Dis Is da Drum
album by Herbie Hancock
Dis Is da Drum is Herbie Hancock's thirty-fourth album and his first solo album since leaving Columbia Records. Guests include saxophonist Bennie Maupin, trumpeter Wallace Roney and flautist Hubert Laws.
Tracks like "Bo Ba Be Da" and "Dis Is da Drum" reflect Hancock's move towards acid jazz, while "Butterfly" makes a fifth appearance on a Hancock album following the original album (Thrust), Kimiko Kasai's album (Butterfly), a live album (Flood), and another studio album (Direct Step). The music video for the title track, directed by Mark Dippé, received a Grammy nomination for Best Music Video, Short Form.
Track listing
Personnel
Herbie Hancock – piano (exc. 2, 3, 7), Minimoog and synthesizer (2, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11), clavinet (2, 5, 10, 11), synthesizer bass (2, 11), background vocals (4)
Bill Summers – percussion (exc. 4, 7), bata (7)
Will "Roc" Griffin – drum loops, sequencing (exc. 5, 7), sampling (exc. 5, 7, 9), programming (5, 7, 10, 11), rap (4)
Darrell Smith – keyboards (1, 2, 8), sequencing (2, 8, 9, 10), electric piano (3, 4, 11), clavinet (3, 7), Minimoog (3), background vocals (4), programming (5–10), synthesizer (5, 9)
Darrell "Bob Dog" Robertson – guitar (exc. 3, 6, 9), background vocals (4)
with
Wah Wah Watson – guitar (1, 2, 8–11), vocals and sequencing (9)
Mars Lasar – keyboards and sound design (1, 4, 6, 10–11)
Wallace Roney – trumpet (1, 8, 10–11)
Bennie Maupin – tenor saxophone (1, 8, 10–11)
Lázaro Galarraga – vocals (2, 7), bata and vocal arrangement (7)
Marina Bambino, Felicidad Ector, Lynn Lindsey, Yvette Summers, Louis Verdeaux – background vocals (2, 11)
Huey Jackson – background vocals (2, 7, 11)
Armand Sabal Lecco – bass guitar (8, 10)
Ken Strong – drums (1, 2, 6–11)
William Kennedy – drums (1, 7, 11)
Frank Thibeaux – bass guitar (1)
Niayi Asiedu – percussion (1)
Doug Scott – additional editing (2)
Airto Moreira – percussion (3)
Chill Factor – rap (4)
The Real Richie Rich – DJ and scratcher (4)
Francis Awe – vocals (5)
Guy Eckstine – drums (5)
Munyungo Jackson and Skip Burney – djembe (5)
Hubert Laws – flute (6)
Nengue Hernandez – background vocals (7)
Nengue Hernandez – bata (7)
Jay Shanklin – bass and add.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Dis Is da Drum” as album by Herbie Hancock. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as album by Herbie Hancock. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q772626. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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