Hottest Flips: Neo-Soul, Griselda, 70s Funk, Brass & a 45 Classic

Made With Tracklib

Hottest Flips: Neo-Soul, Griselda, 70s Funk, Brass & a 45 Classic

A new breakdown of recent flips using Tracklib samples. With a frequent Griselda collaborator, loops ranging from neo-soul to 70s funk, Young M.A's new album with three Tracklib samples, and more.

By

Tracklib

·

June 2, 2021

Young M.A - Successful

"I like to sort All Tracks by ‘What’s New’ and see what I can stumble across. Kind of like I’m playing Rhythm Roulette."

—U-Dub

Another New York affair by Young M.A. and producer U-Dub: next to the prog-rock sample on "Off The Yak," he kept digging deep for a piece of Swedish soul for ‘Successful,’ the opening track of Young M.A’s new album.

“A lot of the time I like to sort All Tracks by ‘What’s New’ and see what I can stumble across. Kind of like I’m playing Rhythm Roulette. When the sample catches my ear I’ll throw it into a **collection**to come back to later.

When I’m ready to make beats (usually on a different day), I’ll look through what I’ve set aside and if I’m still feeling the same way about what I found, I’ll bring it into Slicex in FL Studio and start chopping it. I played the chops in ‘Successful’ and ‘Yak Thoughts’ with my MIDI keyboard, which allowed them to be more out of order.

A-Reece - BRAVO (ft. Belo Salo & Stogie T)

"I feel like, at a point in the future, kids will be sampling us. Samples are giving the youth some knowledge of the music. That’s how they can appreciate the creation of it all."

—A-Reece

For the slick "BRAVO" by South African rapper A-Reece, some brass from James Monroe’s “Frontiersman of the Galaxy” was sampled. His newest release, Today's Tragedy, Tomorrow's Memory**, also contains an** Isaac Hayes sample to close down the mixtape.

“Around 2017/2018 my relationship with sampling kind of started, because I have made beats before but I stopped. But back then I got back into it and got introduced to sampling. I feel like, at a point in the future, kids will be sampling us. Sampling what we do right now. Samples are giving the youth some knowledge of the music. That’s how they can appreciate the creation of it all. Like, this song came from the 70s and is still being used in many hip-hop beats. That’s longevity. So I guess that sheds a little light on how dope music back then was, and how long its lifespan is.

My favorite song on the album is ‘Over Me.’ The chops just landed on my lap. It felt right: ‘The Little Collins’ by Isaac Hayes. I was going through Tracklib, and the very first four bars were more than convincing to me…”—A-Reece

Derek Minor - Fair

"I do most of my sampling in Ableton’s Simpler. After that, I just tweak the transient markers and get to smacking keys until it makes sense to me. No rhyme or reason. It just has to feel right."

—Derek Minor

Producer/rapper Derek Minor dug up a real classic gem from the Tuff City archives. No wonder the soulful "Reflections" was a perfect fit for Derek's uplifting new track, "Fair," which is even named after a line from the Albert Jones original. Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar producer Sounwave, Kenny Beats & Monte Booker all belong to those who have sampled Albert Jones before. A real classic.

“I love flipping samples with vocals in them. I find a phrase that connects and use it. I think of it as a call-and-response arrangement as I’m rapping. When I heard the phrase ‘It just ain’t fair,’ it immediately resonated with me. I often just go through Tracklib and listen to records just to catch a vibe. This time I was in a soul vibe.

The first thing I did was chop the sample. I didn’t even think about drums but I knew I wanted to use some of the drum fills in the original record. When I finished chopping the sample I added 808s to the hook. After that, I was stuck so I shared it with my bro Chino Dolla$. He instantly had a vision. He did the drum programming in like 15 minutes. I’m a HUGE fan of the ‘Simpler’ tool in Ableton. It’s so intuitive and user-friendly. I do most of my sampling there. After that, I just tweak the transient markers and get to smacking keys until it makes sense to me. No rhyme or reason. It just has to feel right.”—Derek Minor

gishfang - Breakups (ft. Guillaume Muschalle)

"We’ve paired that base with hitting 808s, upfront drums, and sprinkled this melange with cool-ass guitar licks played by our friend and guitar virtuoso, Guillaume Muschalle."

—gishfang

gishfang is a triple-gold certified music production duo by two long-time friends. Their smooth new track "Breakups" featuring French guitarist Guillaume Muschalle shows that there's so much more to Tracklib than only the old gems: the synth was taken from a 2017 neo-soul track by Australian alternative R&B group Leisure Centre.

“It was love at the first listen. Music producers will definitely know this special feeling when you find a sample and you know right away that it’s the gem you’ve been looking for… For this single, we allowed ourselves to break up with playlist boundaries in order to create something we felt like doing: a vibe somewhere between chill and energetic.

The first thing we sampled had been two or three chunks out of the retro-sounding synth-pads, which we’ve sped and pitched up a bit. On top of that, we placed the vocal chop singing ‘You don’t wanna be with me,’ which we’ve processed the same way. Then we’ve paired that base with hitting 808s, upfront drums, and sprinkled this melange with cool-ass guitar licks played by our friend and guitar virtuoso, Guillaume Muschalle. Finally, to bring life and movement into the arrangement, we usually like to work with automation, breaks, and soundscapes here and there. That’s what we also did within this production.”

JNS - Championship Rings (ft. El Camino)

“I chopped up all the different parts to re-assemble them in a different way, making sure the kicks and snares hit at the right spots to keep the drum loop going.”

—JNS

Norwegian producer JNS and frequent Griselda collaborator Elcamino go hard over a string-led soul loop. “Championship Rings” is part of JNS’ new PANDEMIVINTER album, which enters its last few days in a Kickstarter campaign to back a release on vinyl.

“I was just browsing for old RnB/soul records from the 70 and 80s, hoping to find something that could stand on its own without adding too much. I instantly loved the instrumentation of ‘Blow Away Breeze,’ with that mellow and funky drum groove. I could already hear the flows and cadence that I wanted on top of it.

I chopped up all the different parts to re-assemble them in a different way. But making sure the kicks and snares hit at the right spots to keep the drum loop going. As far as techniques, it’s just about sequencing the song right. I’ve worked on everything from pop music with Tayla Parx to Dipset’s JR Writer to K-pop artists like Taemin... So I try to keep that same mentality of making the song build and make it interesting from top to bottom. Even if it’s just a sample with vocals on top of it.”—JNS

jns

NugLife - Operation: .44 (ft. Noa James & FrankieOG)

"No drums needed. Just the pure soulful sample with some alternate sequencing and looping."

—NugLife

A smooth trumpet-laden song from Italian label Four Flies was all L.A. producer needed for “Operation: .44.” Chopping up different sections of “Lower Bay” for the first single of his collaborative project with rappers Noa James & FrankieOG.

"When I first heard the sample it was undeniable. Super jazzy, yet calm with underlying gritty energy to it. The production process was pretty flawless. I was waiting to start a session with Noa James & FrankieOG when I heard it. Although I already had beats prepared for the artists, I decided to try and flip this one quickly. No drums needed. Just the pure soulful sample with some alternate sequencing and looping.

My primary approach was to just keep the main vibe of the sample there, although I chopped a few sections from totally different parts of the song, creating a new sequence that felt very original and seamless. That’s what I love about long samples that stay in the same key the entire song. You can practically use any different parts to create a new section like inter-changing puzzle pieces."—NugLife

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