Category: Sampling
By DannyVeekens
Interview: J-Live
J-Live is a rare breed: rapper, producer, DJ, former teacher—and he has mastered all of them. A few times backed by greats like DJ Premier, Prince Paul, Pete Rock & DJ Spinna. And other times handling production duties himself, such as on his newest release, 'At The Date Of This Writing.'By DannyVeekens
'Keyboards Wild, DJ's Smile' by Weldon Irvine
Keyboardist Weldon Irvine was not only frequently sampled (Madlib, Jay-Z, A Tribe Called Quest, Drake, et al), the jazz-funk great also embraced hip-hop himself. On top of a string of albums, he continued working with Mos Def, Talib Kweli, and even giving piano lessons to Q-Tip and Common.By DannyVeekens
It's a Funk Family Affair
The Whole Darn Family is a seven-piece funk band out of Richmond, Virginia, whose short-lived career in the mid-70s made for a long-standing source for sampling. Take their most sampled track, ‘Seven Minutes of Funk’: new on Tracklib, but flipped before for music by Public Enemy, Jay-Z, Kool G Rap, Wu-Tang Clan, Kurtis Blow, and countless others.By DannyVeekens
Kanye West: Uncleared Samples and Trolling Drake
Earlier this year, Kanye West puzzled fans and haters alike with 'Lift Yourself'. It even sparked a feud with Drake, as Kanye offered him the beat first. An actual scoop (without the poop-diddy-whoop): both samples in “Lift Yourself” weren’t cleared–at all.By DannyVeekens
The Jazz of De La Soul's Buhloone Mindstate
De La Soul’s Buhloone Mindstate is hard to comprehend. The album is crammed with in-jokes, far-fetched references, unparalleled flows, and typical De La quirkiness. As cleverly predicted in the intro track, that’s why it did blow up but didn’t go pop. But listening to the album, one thing is easily comprehensible: the influence of jazz.By DannyVeekens
Put on your X: Who is Knowledge?
A drum break from "Synthetic Substitution" by Melvin Bliss; a sax sampled from “Catch A Groove” by 70s funk band Juice; an unidentified piano loop. All together on a 12" by emcee Knowledge, who is shrouded in mystery–with "Put On Your X" being his only release.By DannyVeekens
ZZ Hill: From Nobody to Somebody
“You've been trippin' around, uptown / Wooin' some fancy clown.” DOOM wrote everything for Madvillain’s “Fancy Clown” around a ZZ Hill sample. In a similar vein, hip-hop/jazz outfit Hocus Pocus built their "Mr Tout Le Monde" around another hook by the 70s/80s blues singer.By DannyVeekens
From a Funk Jam to 'The 900 Number'
From the original funk track by ‘Soul Sister #1’ to a breakbeat track, and from Public Enemy raising fists with “Anti-Nigger Machine” to DJ Kool starting parties with “Let Me Clear My Throat”. The horn sampled for “The 900 Number” by New York producer The 45 King took on many shapes.By fimpen
Remembering Aretha Through Samples
Sadly, one of the greatest voices in history moved on yesterday. Aretha Franklin’s music has been sampled in hundreds of songs. Here are 10 of our favorite tracks that samples Aretha’s iconic voice. Rest in Peace to the Queen of Soul. Your voice and music will live on forever.By DannyVeekens