I've been a beat making machine since I was 13 years old. Back in the 1980's finding break beats to mix back and forth to extend the song was called scratching or cutting. This was the early days of turntable mixing. The quest for finding the perfect beat was to be able to locate some obscure oldies song and find it's drum solo break and remix it over again to extend that break. Of course rap was in its infancy so you would have an EmCee who would say his rhymes while the DJ mixed the break.
When the 1990's came along, sampling music became the norm. Producers would take these same types of breaks to create new music from them. Overlaying some nice baselines on top of those beats.
I got pretty much caught up during that period trying to make beats. But as soon as the copy-write legality started, I decided that I cannot afford to pay other artist to sample their music. So it forced me to be creative and make my own drum patterns and base melodies. I've lost count of how many original beats I've created. But one thing for sure, whats old to me will definitely be new to anyone who hears it today.