Ice Cube - A Bird In The Hand (1991) sampled B.B. King - Chains And Things (1970)

Artist:  Ice Cube
Song:  A Bird In The Hand
Year:  1991
Album:  Death Certificate

I think that this album is Ice Cube's finest moment because it is the perfect blend of his N.W.A days with social consciousness.

Artist:  EPMD and Ice Cube
Song:  St. Ides Commercial
Year:  1991
Album:  Not Officially Released

This one is for my friend JOS, the guy who first exposed me to EPMD and Ice Cube.

Artist:  Big L
Song:  Once Again
Year:  2010
Album:  Return Of The Devils Son

Although 50 Cent "The Mechanic" and Prodigy "Money Is A Weapon" used the same sample in recent years, I wanted to highlight Big L because I still think he's one of the all-time great lyricists.

Artist:  B.B. King
Song:  Chains And Things
Year:  1970
Album:  Indianola Mississippi Seeds

Ice Cube used two samples for "A Bird In The Hand".  The first one is a two-bar loop that starts at 3:38 and the second is a one-bar loop that starts at 4:10.  The St. Ides commercial is essentially the same song.  Big L used the loop at 3:38 but extended the length of the sample to create a 4-bar loop.

Pete Rock - Something Funky (2001) sampled Ahmad Jamal - Misdemeanor (1974)

Artist:  Pete Rock
Song:  Something Funky
Year:  2001
Album:  PeteStrumentals

"I get more raw and hot."  I really like how Pete Rock sampled The Large Professor's "The LP" album before it was widely distributed.  However, the sample being discussed here occurs at 0:14, 1:07, 2:12 and 3:16 (Ahmad Jamal playing the keys).  I consider this to be the last album released before Hip Hop had moved onto the Internet.

Artist:  Gang Starr
Song:  Soliloquy Of Chaos
Year:  1992
Album:  Daily Operation

I remember playing this song right before my first football tryouts.  1992 was full of great music.  How about a Daily Operation 20th Anniversary Edition?  Please include the DWYCK Horny Instrumental.

Artist:  Black Moon
Song:  Black Smif-N-Wessun
Year:  1993
Album:  Enta Da Stage

I'm starting to think that every song on this album will wind up on this blog.

Artist:  Ahmad Jamal
Song:  Misdemeanor
Year:  1974
Album:  Jamalca

In chronological order, the Black Moon samples come first.  The 1-bar loop heard throughout the song is at 0:01 and once in a while they use the 1-bar starting at 0:04.  Immediately after the Black Moon samples comes the 1-bar loop used by Gang Starr at 0:07.  Pete Rock waited for a while before he lifted the 2-bar loop at 3:02.