artform and allowed for new styles of music. Its affordability and accessibility had a democratizing effect; musicians could create tracks on a single machine without a studio or music theory knowledge, and it was inviting to musicians who did not play traditional instruments or had no music education. According to Vox, "The explosion of electronic music and hip hop could not have happened without a machine as intimately connected to the creative process as the MPC. It challenged the notion of what a band can look like, or what it takes to be a successful musician. No longer does one need five capable musicians and instruments." MPCs continue to be used in music, even with the advent of digital audio workstations, and fetch high prices on the used market. The 4x4 grid of pads was adopted by numerous manufacturers and became standard in DJ technology. Engadget wrote that the impact of the MPC on hip hop "cannot be overstated". The British rapper Jehst saw it as the next step in hip hop evolution after the introduction of the TR-808, TR-909 and DMX drum machines in the 1980s. The American producer DJ Shadow used an MPC60 to create his influential 1996 album Endtroducing, which is composed entirely of samples. The American producer J Dilla disabled the quantize feature on his MPC to create his signature "off-kilter" sampling style. After his death, his MPC was preserved in the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2014. The rapper Kanye West used the MPC to compose several of his best-known tracks and much of his breakthrough album The College Dropout; West closed the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards with a performance of his 2010 track "Runaway" on an MPC. See also Akai Drum machine Groovebox Sampler References Further reading External links Official Roger Linn site Akai synthesizers Samplers (musical instrument) Music sequencers Sound modules Music workstations MIDI controllers Hip hop production Japanese inventions Musical instruments invented in the 1980s