L. The Head Toucha - Too Complex (1997) sampled Don Blackman - Holding You, Loving You (1982)

Artist:  L. The Head Toucha (L. Da Head Toucha)
Song:  Too Complex
Year:  1997
Album:  Too Complex 12-inch Single (also later released on the Destined For Greatness LP)

All I ever knew about L. The Head Toucha was this song.  It was released on his album 6 years later.  Great loop.

Artist:  Slum Village
Song:  Go Ladies
Year:  2000
Album:  Fantastic, Vol. 2

Slum Village also utilized the sample but in a different way.  One thing I always liked about J Dilla was his ability to take a sample that was well-known and do something interesting to it. 5 Ela Remix was a good example of this and so is Go Ladies.  J Dilla was brilliant.

Artist:  Don Blackman
Song:  Holding You, Loving You
Year:  1982
Album:  Don Blackman

I wish there was much more 80's music like this.  L. The Head Toucha used the loop starting at 1:36 directly.  Slum Village used the same loop except all the low end was removed and the bass was played in a similar manner but with fewer notes.  Slum Village also used the sample starting at 0:00 for their intro.

3rd Bass - Triple Stage Darkness (1989) sampled B.T. Express - This House Is Smokin' (1974)

Artist:  3rd Bass
Song:  Triple Stage Darkness
Year:  1989
Album:  The Cactus Album

In my "3rd" of "3" dedications to my buddies, I thank JOS for putting me on to 3rd Bass and radically altering the trajectory of my childhood.  When I hear this song, I still think of the video with the graveyard and tombstones.  I really like the Rakim and Chuck D combination for the chorus.  Of course, 3rd Bass took 3 samples from B.T. Express for this song.

Artist:  B.T. Express
Song:  This House Is Smokin'
Year:  1974
Album:  Do It 'Til You're Satisfied

This album is full of well-known samples, highly recommended.  For the Triple Stage Darkness verses, the sample is right at the 0:00 mark.  A little trickier is the the chorus sample that starts at 1:17.  Finally, 3rd Bass ends their song with another loop, located at 1:26.

Show and A.G. - Got Ya Back (1995) sampled Herbie Hancock - You'll Know When You Get There (1971)

Artist:  Show and A.G.
Song:  Got Ya Back
Year:  1995
Album:  Goodfellas

Hey, CPW, remember all the Show and AG we used to listen to?  Thanks for being the first to buy this album even though I think it got stolen.  What I remember most about this record is that I was really impressed with their growth after thinking Runaway Slave couldn't be improved upon.  The samples moved away from the uptempo jazzy sound that first made them popular and towards darker moods and heavy drums.  I also remember there was a murder accusation that affected the promotion of the LP.

Artist:  Slum Village
Song:  Fantastic
Year:  1996
Album:  Fan-Tas-Tic Vol. 1

Slum Village took a different snippet from the same Herbie Hancock song.  It's the same musical phrase but found elsewhere and played differently.  Classic material.  Toronto loves Detroit Hiphop.

Artist:  Herbie Hancock
Song:  You'll Know When You Get There
Year:  1971
Album:  Mwandishi

I'm a big Herbie Hancock fan.  I saw him live at Massey Hall and he put me in a trance.  I used to loop up pieces of this record just to be hypnotized by the ethereal qualities.  The Show and A.G. loop occurs at the 8:57 mark.  J Dilla combined 2 pieces of the song.  The first two notes of the Slum Village loop appears at the 0:57 mark and the rest is at 7:19.

Street Smartz - Don't Trust Anyone (1997) sampled Franck Pourcel - Diamonds Are Forever (1973)

Artist:  Street Smartz
Song:  Don't Trust Anyone
Year:  1997
Album:  Tru Criminal Records EP

This post goes out to my friend RGH who introduced me to this song after I had enjoyed "Problemz" and "Metal Thangz" by Street Smartz.  F.T. (Fuc That) is firmly embedded in my top 10 emcees of all time.  He was always able to string together multi-syllable rhymes better than most and he had a knack for rhyming over great music.  His catalogue is worth checking out.

Artist:  Dr. Dre
Song:  Ed-Ucation (featuring Eddie Griffin)
Year:  1999
Album:  (The Chronic) 2001

Yeah, The Chronic 2001 came out in 1999, I never forgot that.  Before I get to the original sample, I have to mention that it is used on this album for a skit.  I'm mentioning it because Dre is a genius and Eddie Griffin's rant is amusing.  Imagine if Dre and Snoop rhymed on this beat circa 1992.

Artist:  Franck Pourcel
Song:  Diamonds Are Forever
Year:  1973
Album:  Themes Originaux James Bond 007 (James Bond's Greatest Hits)

This one goes in the category of too amazing not to post.  I'm sure many people already know about this sample because James Bond cover songs are worth listening to.  The loop occurs at the 1:18 mark of the song.  More evidence that there is great music outside of North America.

Ghostface Killah - Miguel Sanchez (2006) sampled Earth Wind and Fire - Love is Life (1971)

Artist:  Ghostface Killah
Song:  Miguel Sanchez
Year:  2006
Album:  More Fish

When I heard the first verse on the original Wu-Tang album, I had no idea that Ghostface Killah would become the Clan emcee I respect the most.  I always thought his laser-beam vocals sounded great on certain types of tracks, and this would have been one of them.  Unfortunately, he doesn't rhyme on this song.  There are 3 musical elements sampled from Earth Wind and Fire, the main loop and two vocal samples.  It should also be noted that this song was the one that gave me enough motivation to start this blog.

Artist:  Earth Wind and Fire
Song:  Love Is Life
Year:  1971
Album:  Earth Wind and Fire

This is a great track and a great album.  It's far from obscure but it's not exactly "Impeach the President" or "Atomic Dog".  This blog will attempt to showcase samples that are either relatively unknown or too good not to post.  Listen to this track at around the 2:42 mark and you can hear the main loop for the Ghostface Song.  At 2:48 is one of the singing samples - "Yeah, Yeah" (Ghostface uses these samples at the 0:03, 1:08 and 2:14 marks).  At 3:17 is the other singing sample - "Oooooooh" (appears on Miguel Sanchez at the 0:38 and 1:44 marks).

Arcee - Super Educated (2003) sampled Young-Holt Unlimited - (They Long To Be) Close To You (1973)

Artist:  Arcee
Song:  Super Educated
Year:  2003
Album:  Report On Business - 1st Edition Mixtape

I had to start this blog off correctly with a local Toronto artist.  Arcee is a talented lyricist and this is one of his better tracks.  The music is made up of three parts as described below.  There was also a sequel to this song with the same music featuring a West-Coast emcee named Encore.

Artist:  Young-Holt Unlimited
Song:  (They Long To Be) Close To You
Year:  1973
Album:  Plays Super Fly

Listen to this track at around the 0:34 - 0:40 second mark and you can hear the three sampled parts.  The lyrics in the Young-Holt Unlimited song are "THEY want TO BE, they want to BE CLOSE TO YOU, CLOSE TO YOU".  Arcee's arrangement starts with the "THEY", follows that with "BE CLOSE TO YOU, CLOSE TO YOU" and finally with "TO BE".  Good beatmaking.