Freddie Gibbs & Madlib - Broken (2014) sampled Isaac Hayes - Wherever You Are (1980)

Artist:  Freddie Gibbs & Madlib (featuring Scarface)
Song:  Broken
Year:  2014
Album:  Piñata

Here are my top 25 Hip Hop albums of 2014:

25.  Prince Po and Oh No - Animal Serum
24.  Termanology - Shut Up And Rap
23.  Shabaam Sahdeeq - Keepers Of The Lost Art
22.  Onyx & Snowgoons - #WakeDaFucUp
21.  The Alchemist and Budgie - The Good Book
20.  MindsOne & Kev Brown - Pillars
19.  Mayhem Lauren and Buckwild - Silk Pyramids
18.  Ghostface Killah - 36 Seasons
17.  The Eastsidaz and Snoop Dogg - That's My Work 4
16.  Cormega - Mega Philosophy
15.  Your Old Droog - Your Old Droog
14.  J Rawls - The Legacy
13.  Kev Brown Presents Hassaan Mackey - That Grit
12.  Opio & Equipto - Red XX
11.  Ed O.G - After All These Years

My top 10 Hip Hop albums of 2014

10.  Royce Da 5'9" & DJ Premier - PRhyme
9.  Statik Selektah - #WHATGOESAROUND
8.  Planet Asia & Tzarizm - Via Satellite
7.  Cam'ron - 1st Of The Month, Box Set
6.  The Dopplegangaz - Peace Kehd
5.  Blu - Good To Be Home
4.  Curren$y - The Drive In Theatre
3.  Apollo Brown and Ras Kass - Blasphemy
2.  Step Brothers (Alchemist and Evidence) - Lord Steppington
1.  Freddie Gibbs & Madlib - Piñata

The level of lyricism and production on Piñata was unmatched in 2014. I also liked how every song title on this album is one word.




Artist:  Onyx
Song:  Live Niguz
Year:  1995
Album:  All We Got Iz Us

This was considered the commercial song from this dark album but I thought it was a great song and changed up the vibe of the album for the better. 

Artist:  Isaac Hayes
Song:  Wherever You Are
Year:  1980
Album:  And Once Again

Freddie Gibbs & Madlib used the four-bar loop at 0:01.  Onyx only used the second half of the same sample, the two-bar loop starting at 0:08. 

Here are my top 25 Hip Hop songs of 2014:

25.  Skyzoo & Torae - Blue Yankee Fitted
24.  Ab-Soul - Stigmata (featuring Action Bronson and Asaad)
23.  The Eastsidaz and Snoop Dogg - Bottom Girl
22.  J Rawls - Bills (featuring Masta Ace)
21.  Planet Asia & Tzarizm - Via Satellite
20.  Lil' Kim - Stadium Music (featuring Yo Gotti)
19.  Mayhem Lauren and Buckwild - Can't Fuck 'Em All
18.  Skyzoo & Torae - Rediscover (featuring Blu)
17.  Apollo Brown - Heaven at Last
16.  Ed O.G - Make Music
15.  Opio & Equipto - Love It All
14.  John Robinson & PVD - Kiss The Sky
13.  Common - Rewind That
12.  Apollo Brown & Ras Kass - Impossible Dream
11.  Blu - The Return

My top 10 Hip Hop songs of 2014:

10.  Blu - Whip Creme (Part One)
9.  The Dopplegangaz - Live Rugged
8.  The Roots - When The People Cheer
7.  MindsOne & Kev Brown - Manipulated
6.  The Eastsidaz and Snoop Dogg - Me & Mines
5.  Royce Da 5'9" & DJ Premier - U Looz
4.  Apollo Brown & Ras Kass - H2O
3.  Cam'ron - Soulplane
2.  Step Brothers - More Wins
1.  Curren$y - Stolen

Honorary Mentions
Cormega - More
Homeboy Sandman - Problems
Opio & Equipto - Faris Wheel
Sim-E - Sole Progression (featuring Roc Marciano)
Statik Selektah - What Goes Around
Onyx & Snowgoons - We Don't Fuckin Care

Mobb Deep (1st Infantry) - Fourth Of July sampled Brothers By Choice - Take A Little More (1978)

Artist:  Mobb Deep (1st Infantry)
Song:  Fourth Of July
Year:  2003
Album:  Free Agents: The Murda Mixtape

Prodigy is on the chorus and this song appears on a Mobb Deep album, but it is really a 1st Infantry track on the bonus disc.  1st Infantry is Alchemist, Evidence and Big Twins.  Great combination.

Artist:  MED
Song:  Yeah
Year:  2005
Album:  Push Comes To Shove

This is a good album full of beats by Madlib and J Dilla. 

Artist:  Brothers By Choice
Song:  Take A Little More
Year:  1978
Album:  Brothers By Choice

Mobb Deep used the one-bar loop from 0:13 and the four-bar loop from 0:00.

MED used chopped pieces to form a half-bar loop that is kept interesting with more samples from the same four-bars starting at 0:00. 

Extra Prolific - Searching (1996) sampled Isaac Hayes - You're In My Arms Again (1974)

Artist:  Extra Prolific
Song:  Searching
Year:  1996
Album:  2 For 15

Hey Snupe, you should be honoured that I selected you for the 100th post on this blog.  Another selection from one of my favourite albums.  Extra Prolific had a knack for great samples. 

Artist:  Isaac Hayes
Song:  You're In My Arms Again
Year:  1974
Album:  Truck Turner OST

The great thing about this sample is that the original song is in 3/4 time but the Hip Hop song is in 4/4 time.  This means that a beat gets repeated twice to expand the length of the sample.  Most of the song uses the sample from 0:22.  The sample starting at 0:33 is used as well to change things up. 

Hurricane G - Milky (1991) sampled Barbara Mason - Give Me Your Love (1972)

Artist:  Hurricane G
Song:  Milky
Year:  1991
Album:  Not Officially Released

I didn't hear this song until years later, but it would have increased my Hit Squad devotion.  I always wished that Hurricane G and Knucklehedz dropped official albums in early 1993 to continue the momentum that Hit Squad built up throughout 1992.  Sadly, this song didn't make the Hurricane G album that surfaced in 1997.  Check out the Erick Sermon and Redman verse at the end of this song.

Artist:  EPMD
Song:  Can't Hear Nothing But The Music
Year:  1992
Album:  Business Never Personal

Maybe this tune was created because Erick Sermon had to let most of us hear this sample. 

Artist:  Barbara Mason
Song:  Give Me Your Love
Year:  1972
Album:  Give Me Your Love

This song is another version of the one I know from Curtis Mayfield on the Super Fly OST.  The two-bar loop starting at 0:00 is heard in the chorus for Hurricane G and EPMD. 

The Large Professor - That Bullshit (1996) sampled The Nat Adderley Sextet - Make Your Own Temple (1972)

Artist:  The Large Professor
Song:  That Bullshit
Year:  1996
Album:  The LP

This song was on the 1996 bootleg version of "The LP".  I remember hearing it for the first time on Mastermind's local Saturday afternoon radio show and it was the first time he played a song twice in a row.  This was the first song off this album that I heard, long before "Mad Scientist".

Artist:  Mad Skillz
Song:  Skillz In '95
Year:  1995
Album:  The Nod Factor 12-inch Single

Since it uses the same source, it shouldn't surprise you that this song was also produced by The Large Professor. 

Artist:  The Nat Adderley Sextet With Rick Holmes
Song:  Make Your Own Temple
Year:  1972
Album:  Cannonball Adderley Presents Soul Of The Bible

Rick Holmes is the guy talking and he sounds great on jazz.  If you dig this, check out two more albums by the Adderley brothers:  "Soul Zodiac" and "Love, Sex and the Zodiac".  The main sample used by The Large Professor was a two-bar loop that combined a six-beat sample starting at 2:21 and then beats 7 and 8 are a repeat of beats 3 and 4.  The chorus sample is the two-bar sample at 3:40.  Mad Skillz used the sample that drops at 2:26. 

Rapper Big Pooh - Wooden Wall Silverware (2011) sampled Pondersoa Twins Plus One - Bound (1971)

Artist:  Rapper Big Pooh
Song:  Wooden Wall Silverware
Year:  2011
Album:  Fat Boy Fresh Volume One - For Members Only

The Fat Boy Fresh series has three volumes to date and is worthy of a box set, especially if more quality material gets added over the years.

Artist:  The Large Professor
Song:  Bowne
Year:  2009
Album:  The LP

This song was on the official 2009 release of "The LP", but not on the 1996 bootleg version that floated around. 

Artist:  Kayne West
Song:  Bound 2
Year:  2013
Album:  Yeezus

Besides the fact that the video for this song was what caught people's attention, I thought it was the best track on the album. 

Artist:  Ponderosa Twins Plus One
Song:  Bound
Year:  1971
Album:  2+2+1 = Ponderosa Twins Plus One

An album cover like this begs one to listen to its contents.  How can there not be a sample inside?  Rapper Big Pooh used the two-bar loop at 2:17.  The Large Professor used the two-bar loop at 0:01 for the verses but the two-bar loop at 0:14 for the chorus.  Kanye West used the same sample at 0:14 and also used the two-bar loop from 1:02.

Maestro Fresh Wes - Another Funky Break (From My Pap's Crate) (1992) sampled The Cannonball Adderley Quintet - Hummin' (1970)

Artist:  Maestro Fresh Wes
Song:  Another Funky Break (From My Pap's Crate)
Year:  1992
Album:  Maestro Zone

I recently had the honour of meeting Maestro Fresh Wes and the guy is a class act.  One of the most underrated lyricists, period.  Before Jay-Z, Nas, Biggie and others, this guy was at the top of the game.

Artist:  Da King & I
Song:  This Is How We Do
Year:  1993
Album:  Contemporary Jeep Music

Every song on this album could wind up on this blog. 

Artist:  3rd Bass
Song:  Green Eggs And Swine
Year:  1991
Album:  Derelicts Of Dialect

The summer of 1991 was non-stop 3rd Bass in my neighbourhood. 

Artist:  The Cannonball Adderley Quintet
Song:  Hummin'
Year:  1970
Album:  Country Preacher - "Live" At Operation Breadbasket

I still like Jazz as my foundation for Hip Hop.  Maestro Fresh Wes used the horns at 1:22 for his chorus.  Da King & I used the same sample.  3rd Bass used the one-bar loop from 0:03 for their song and added the four bars of horns from 0:11.

Main Source - Time (Alternative Mix) (1993 ?) sampled Roy Ayers - Gotta Find A Lover (1977)

Artist:  Main Source
Song:  Time (Alternative Mix)
Year:  1993 (?)
Album:  The Science (Not Officially Released)

I first heard this song years ago when K-Cut appeared on a local Toronto radio show promising to unearth old music from "The Science", the unreleased second Main Source album.  I thought it was a terrible shame that this album didn't get fully made because it would have been an all-time classic.  Forgive the sound quality.

Artist:  Trends Of Culture
Song:  Let Tha Big Boyz Play
Year:  1993
Album:  Trendz...

If you were listening to Hip Hop every day in 1993, these guys were known at the time for the "Off And On" remix with Lord Finesse.  I still like the album tracks as well. 

Artist:  Roy Ayers Ubiquity
Song:  Gotta Find A Lover
Year:  1977
Album:  Lifeline

Another great sample from Roy Ayers.  Main Source created a two-bar loop using one bar from 0:00 and joining it to another bar at 0:10.  Trends Of Culture didn't actually sample the song but instead played their own interpretation of the same loop.

Capone And Noreaga - Married To Marijuana (1997) sampled Al Green - Something (1976)

Artist:  Capone And Noreaga (Capone -N- Noreaga)
Song:  Married To Marijuana
Year:  1997
Album:  Not Officially Released (White Label 12-inch)

This song would have fit in perfectly on "The War Report" album.  I can imagine Al Green not wanting to clear the sample because of the lyrics.

Artist:  Brand Nubian
Song:  Maybe One Day
Year:  1998
Album:  Foundation

I figure Brand Nubian dropped the science on Al Green and he gladly cleared the sample. 

Artist:  Al Green
Song:  Something
Year:  1976
Album:  Have A Good Time

A lot of babies were made to this stuff.  The Capone -N- Noreaga sample is a four-bar loop starting at 0:01.  Brand Nubian used the same loop.  Capone -N- Noreaga also took the sample from 0:29 for a two-bar loop in the chorus.

Showbiz & A.G. - Bounce Ta This (1992) sampled Buster Williams - The Hump (1975)

Artist:  Showbiz & A.G.
Song:  Bounce Ta This
Year:  1992
Album:  Runaway Slave

With Dres of Black Sheep on the track, this is one of my favourites from the era.

Artist:  A Tribe Called Quest
Song:  Mr. Incognito
Year:  1994
Album:  Not Officially Released in 1994

I believe it was 1994 when I heard this song on the radio.  Since it wasn't released officially at the time, I assumed it was on a white label 12-inch single.  This song also appears on the album shown in the picture, a compilation released in 2003 called Hits, Rarities & Remixes. Fugees (Tranzlator Crew) also used the bassline occasionally in "Nappy Heads". 

Artist:  Buster Williams
Song:  The Hump
Year:  1975
Album:  Pinnacle

I still like Jazz bass for Hip Hop.  Showbiz & A.G. used the one-bar loop that starts at 7:10.  A Tribe Called Quest used the two-bar loop starting at 0:40.

Rah Digga - Harriet Thugman (1999) sampled Lou Courtney - I've Got Just The Thing (1967)

Artist:  Rah Digga
Song:  Harriet Thugman
Year:  1999
Album:  Dirty Harriet

If I was stuck on a Caribbean island with just this blog, I would want this song to be available to me.  I love the energy from this track.

Artist:  X-Clan
Song:  Verbs Of Power
Year:  1990
Album:  To The East Blackwards

Sissyyyyyyy!  Don't sleep on this album.  I miss the days when Emcees were all very different characters.

Artist:  Lou Courtney
Song:  I've Got Just The Thing
Year:  1967
Album:  Skate Now Shing-A-Ling

I think I'll do the Shing-A-Ling at the next wedding I attend.  The Rah Digga and X-Clan samples both use the four bars starting at 0:00.

Curren$y (Spitta Andretti) - Stolen (2014) sampled Michal Urbaniak - A Day In The Park (1978)

Artist:  Curren$y (Spitta Andretti)
Song:  Stolen
Year:  2014
Album:  The Drive In Theatre

This album and song will likely make my Top 25 lists at the end of the year.  I think that this is the hot sample for 2014.

Artist:  Freddie Gibbs X The Worlds Freshest
Song:  Interlude
Year:  2014
Album:  The Tonite Show

It's too bad that this is only an interlude on this album; Gangsta Gibbs would have blessed this beat.

Artist:  Michal Urbaniak
Song:  A Day In The Park
Year:  1978
Album:  Ecstasy

This sample sounds like it should have been a Statik Selektah beat, maybe he'll use it in the future.  The Curren$y sample is the 4-bar loop starting at 0:01.  Freddie Gibbs used only the first two bars of the same sample and also added the vocal sample "fresh air, what a day" from 0:20.

Mic Geronimo - Unstoppable (1997) sampled Marvin Gaye - Poor Abbey Walsh (1972)

Artist:  Mic Geronimo
Song:  Unstoppable
Year:  1997
Album:  Vendetta

This track was produced by Pete Rock.  I thought this was a great sample from the first time I heard it.

Artist:  Kool G Rap
Song:  Foul Cats
Year:  1998
Album:  Roots Of Evil

Top 10 Emcee on the same sample but in this track the pieces are chopped up.

Artist:  Marvin Gaye
Song:  Poor Abbey Walsh
Year:  1972
Album:  Trouble Man Motion Picture Soundtrack (OST)

There are so many Marvin Gaye samples but this one is different from all the others because it was for a movie soundtrack.  The four-bar loop sampled for Mic Geronimo is at 3:35.  Kool G Rap used the same sample but rearranged the pieces.

Del The Funky Homosapien - No More Worries (1993) sampled Jerry Butler And Jerry Peters - Part III (1972)

Artist:  Del The Funky Homosapien
Song:  No More Worries
Year:  1993
Album:  No Need For Alarm

A good one-bar loop is hard to find, they can be repetitive.  Del has a good one here.  The track features A-Plus, Casual and Extra Prolific.

Artist:  Jerry Butler And Jerry Peters
Song:  Part III
Year:  1972
Album:  Melinda (Original Music From The Motion Picture) (Melinda OST)

The sample is the one-bar loop starting at 0:06.

A Tribe Called Quest - Butter (1991) sampled Weather Report - Young And Fine (1978)

Artist:  A Tribe Called Quest
Song:  Butter
Year:  1991
Album:  The Low End Theory

I often think that this is the best Hip Hop album ever made, it still sounds great.

Artist:  DJ Jazzy Jeff
Song:  Da Ntro
Year:  2002
Album:  The Magnificent

This album starts off with a good intro and follows with a few more songs with a similar vibe.

Artist:  Weather Report
Song:  Young And Fine
Year:  1978
Album:  Mr. Gone

I'm fortunate to have seen Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter live in concert.  Weather Report have a lot of samples in their catalog.  A Tribe Called Quest and DJ Jazzy Jeff used the same two-bar loop from 0:00.

The Pharcyde - Passin' Me By (Fly As Pie Remix) (1993) sampled Roy Ayers Ubiquity - The Third Eye (1976)

Artist:  The Pharcyde
Song:  Passin' Me By (Fly As Pie Remix)
Year:  1993
Album:  Passin' Me By 12-inch Single

I had the other "Passin' Me By" 12-inch single with a different cover and "Pork" on the B-Side (B-Cyde).  This single had the remixes.

Artist:  Roy Ayers Ubiquity
Song:  The Third Eye
Year:  1976
Album:  Everybody Loves The Sunshine

Roy Ayers is one of my favourites.  The two-bar sample occurs at 0:04.

Rapper Big Pooh - Between The Lines (2004) sampled The Fatback Band - Baby Doll (1973)

Artist:  Rapper Big Pooh
Song:  Between The Lines
Year:  2004
Album:  Sleepers

I give up 9th Wonder, you're a genius.  I can't figure out this beat fully, the flutes are difficult to recreate.  Another masterful production by Harvard Professor 9th Wonder.

Artist:  The Fatback Band
Song:  Baby Doll
Year:  1973
Album:  People Music

I dig the singing in this song, it makes for great vocal samples.

Rapper Big Pooh rhymes over 4-bar loops made up of many samples pieced together.

During the verse, you hear many flute samples from 0:27 to 1:07.  One of which is at 0:47 and another at 1:04.  At the 3 and 11 beats is a vocal sample "oh oh oh oh" from 5:39.

During the intro and chorus, more vocal samples.  "Love you" from 1:31.  "Honey I love you" from 1:30.  "Cause" from 1:54.  "My Love" from 2:37.