Classic Samples & Breaks in Hip-Hop History

Hip-Hop samples are fragments of recorded music extracted from old recordings for the use of making new songs. They mostly come from 60's soul and 70's funk records. The term "crate-digger" refers to DJs who dig through crates of old records looking for breakbeats. A breakbeat is a portion of a song where the drummer plays alone, be it at the biginning of the track or during or after the bridge of the song.

Hip-Hop is most derivative from funk, jazz,and go-go music. The standard in original hip-hop / funk sampling began when Eric B. & Rakim emerged with their devastating, competition squashing, debut album, Paid In Full. For funk enthusiasts or "funktual" people, "I Ain't No Joke" was obviously "Pass The Peas" by The JB's, but then you heard the classic track "I Know You Got Soul", which took it's name from the song it sampled, a funk standard by Bobby Byrd.

When Rakim started..

"It's been a long time, I shouldn't a left you,

without a strong rhyme to step to,

think of how many weak shows you slept through,

time's up! Sorry I kept you."

...you could hear you own eyelids slap wide open.

The fact that both street and club DJs agreed that this was the next direction the genre was going was proof of it's power. In fact, this record was so popular among DJs that it spawned Britain's first House Music hit. The project known as M/A/R/R/S was an international smash-hit despite it's legal troubles when they sampled Rakim's a capella line "Pump Up The Volume".

It all started off a simple Funk Groove!

And there are millions of great stories out there that further enrich this amazing cultural movement.

Funk came to breathe new life and humanity not only back into the Hip-Hop scene in the streets but to the waning club scene as well. Previously dominated by a more electro-digitized hip-hop by the Godfather of Hip-Hop Afrika Bambaataa, whose pop-locking music was influenced by European techno-geniuses Kraftwerk lacked a bit of humanity that the streets longed for.

Funk rhythms are also the basis for the entire b-boy movement as well, where hundreds of lesser known funk legends are now the mining grounds for crate diggers everywhere, trying to find the breakbeat that will stop the world for a few minutes.

Here are some of the classic funk grooves, rare grooves & funky soul samples that have shaped hip-hop thus far:

Top 5 Favorite Samples are:

1. Lyn Collins (The Female Preacher) - "Think (About It)" is a funk classic but it's now known as the loop sample for the Hip-Hop club smash "It Takes Two" by Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock. hit it!

2. Bobby "Blue" Bland - "Ain't No Love In The Heart of the City" which is the Jay-Z killer cut "Heart of the City".

3. Isaac Hayes - "Hung Up On My Baby" is the ultra smooth groove behind the Geto Boys' classic "Mind Playin' Tricks On Me".

4. The Delfonics - "Ready Or Not, Here I Come" Now the lyrics should give away that the Fugees stole the melody for "Ready or Not" but the actual music sample was made famous by Timabaland when he set up his partner Missy 'Misdemeanor' Elliott with the perfect beat for "Sock It 2 Me" a beat so hot they invited Da Brat on it for what turns out to be her best work.

5. Freddie Scott - "(You) Got What I Need" became the irrepressible "Just a Friend" by Biz Markie.

SUPER SPECIAL SAMPLE STORY - The Story of "LADI DADI" by Slick Rick

Sukiyaki - Kyu Sakamoto >>

>> Sukiyaki - A Taste of Honey >>

>> La-Di Da-Di - Doug E. Fresh & MC Ricky D

This sample might not make sense if you only have the mp3, for a couple of reasons.You can not get the REAL version on CD anywhere as the sample was never cleared! So they snipped it.

If you listen to the song, Slick Rick's cadence is clearly altered at the line "so I said what's wrong, cause she looked upset"///

The Reason > On the original classic **From 2:47 to 3:09** Rick would sing,

It's all because of you 

I'm feeling sad and blue 

You went away now my life is just a rainy day 

I love you so. 

How much you'll never know. 

You took your love away from me.

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha" /// 

Then it would return to > "now, what was I to do? she's cryin' over me and she was feelin' blue...

You are missing 26 seconds of classic Hip-Hop history right there. Find the 12" vinyl pressing, (I found one last year for $8) and rip it into your computer. Now you're part of history. [$8 for 0:26] I made my choice. End part 1.

Now getting to the history of the song.

In 1963, a Japanese man named Kyu Sakamoto recorded and released the first incarnation of this song. Sukiyaki as it was titled in the states, a/k/a "Ue O Muite Aruko" (I Look Up When I Walk) went to #1 and stayed there for 3 weeks after knocking Lesley Gore's 'It's My Party' out of the top slot.

In 1981, a disco group called A Taste of Honey was still looking for a follow-up to their smash Boogie Oogie Oogie and they decided to cover 'Sukiyaki' in name and in melody but they changed the words to make a breakup song. It went to #3 in the states, the single was certified Gold and they avoided being a one-hit wonder.

In 1985, Doug E. Fresh & MC Ricky D (as he was called back then) recorded the greatest 12" in Hip-Hop history. Side A was the Inspector Gadget-sampling club jam, The Show and b/w Side B which was Ladi Dadi. To this day, it is still debated as to which of these two songs is better. They are so different in style but equal in value. End part 2

Any questions?

DJ Funktual - Spreading the Funktual Revolution one Hub at a time -

Dyke & The Blazers - Let a Woman Be a Woman <<>>Sally - Stetsasonic

Seals & Crofts - Sweet Green Fields <<>> Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See - Busta Rhymes

West Coast Poplock - Ronnie Hudson & Woman to Woman - Joe Cocker <<>> California Love - Dr. Dre & 2Pac

Prove My Love to You - The Main Ingredient << >> You Don't Know My Name - Alicia Keys

The Big Beat - Billy Squier <<>> Dizzee Rascal - Fix Up, Look Sharp

3 for 1 right here

1-Walk Right Up The Sun - The Delfonics <<>>

2-If I Ruled The World - Kurtis Blow <<>>

3-Friends - Whodini <<>>

were all for the Classic "If I Ruled The World" (Imagine That) by Nas featuring Lauryn Hill

The Jazz classic "Today" by Tom Scott features the famous horns from Pete Rock & CL Smooth's everlasting tribute to Trouble T-Roy: "Reminisce (T.R.O.Y.)"

Before the Night is Over - Joe Simon << >> So Fresh, So Clean - OutKast

One Step Ahead - Aretha Franklin << >> Ms Fat Booty - Mos Def

Open Your Eyes - Bobby Caldwell << >> The Light - Common

Magic Mountain - War << >> Potholes In My Lawn - De La Soul

Headless Heroes - Eugene McDaniels << >> Get It Together - Beastie Boys & Q-Tip

Ashley's Roachclip - The Soul Searchers << >> Paid In Full (Coldcut REMIX) - Eric B & Rakim

Rise - Herb Alpert <<>> Hypnotize - The Notorious B.I.G.

I Keep Forgettin' - Michael McDonald << >> Regulate - Nate Dogg & Warren G

Blow Your Whistle - The Soul Searchers << >> Tambourine - Eve

Cavern - Liquid Liquid << >> White Lines - Grandmaster Melle Mel

I Can't Stand The Rain - Ann Peebles << >> The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly) - Missy Elliott

Cantaloupe Island - Herbie Hancock <<>> Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) - Us3

A Little Bit of Love - Brenda Russell << >> Still Not a Player - Big Punisher

Home Is Where The Hatred Is - Gil Scott-Heron << >> My Way Home - Kanye West, Common

Maybe It's the Power of Love - Blackjack a/k/a Michael Bolton <> Never Let Me Down - Kanye West featuring Jay-Z

Cola Bottle Baby - Edwin Birdsong **Combined with**Harder, Better, Faster - Daft Punk

=The Hit of the Year 2007 "Stronger" by Kanye West

Bring It Here - Wild Sugar <<>> Brass Monkey - Beastie Boys

Are You My Woman? (Tell Me So) - The Chi-Lites << >> Crazy In Love - Beyonce & Jay-Z

My Jamaican Guy - Grace Jones << >> Wild Thang - 2 Much << >> Doin' It - LL Cool J

On this one, the music is all in the Grace Jones version but 2 Much added the phrase "Doin' it and doin' it and doin' it well" which means LL had little to do with this massive dancefloor smash!

Everybody knows Run DMC got "Walk This Way" from Aerosmith, but did you know...

they got "Mary Mary" from THE MONKEES? Or that "It's Tricky" samples "My Sharona"?

How about Bob James' "Take Me To The Mardi Gras" becoming "Peter Piper" for Run DMC and then again later as the outro to Missy 'Misdemeanor' Elliot's "Work It"!?!

Three of the hottest samples of recent memory were...

We Almost Lost Detroit - Gil Scott-Heron

turning into

The People - Common featuring Dwele

Daydream In Blue - I Monster

was sampled to make

Daydreamin' - Lupe Fiasco featuring Jill Scott

Michael Jackson's P.Y.T. = The Good Life by Kanye West & T-Pain

There are, of course, thousands more but these are without a doubt the greatest I have come across.