Why does Beyonce say "808" at the beginning of Deja Vu?!
Question:
Why does Beyonce say "808" at the beginning of Deja Vu?
What is 808? I know it's the area code for Hawaii, but she's from Houston! What?
Answers:
The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer was one of the first programmable drum machines ("TR" serving as an acronym for "Transistor Rhythm"). Introduced by the Roland Corporation in late 1980, it was originally manufactured for use as a tool for studio musicians to create demos. Like earlier Roland drum machines, it does not sound very much like a real drum kit. Indeed, because the TR-808 came out a few months after the Linn LM-1 (the first drum machine to use digital samples), professionals generally considered its sound inferior to sampling drum machines; a 1982 Keyboard Magazine review of the Linn Drum indirectly referred to the TR-808 as sounding like "marching anteaters". However, the TR-808 had a significant advantage over the LM-1 in that its $1,000 price tag was much more favorable to musicians (compared to the LM-1, which was priced at almost $5,000).
so basically, it's a type of drum machine
She says 808, and the 808 drums start playing
She says Bass, and the bass starts playing
She says hi hat, and the hats start playing