InI - The Life I Live (1996) sampled Rotary Connection - Memory Band (1968)

Artist:  InI
Song:  The Life I Live
Year:  1996
Album:  Center Of Attention

InI is one of the groups that drop jewels to live your life by.  I still think about lines like "You never succeed or progress, searching for peace through material objects" from "Fakin' Jax". From the cassette I first heard this album on (thanks RGH) to the compilation with the lost Deda "The Original Baby Pa" album, I have collected various versions of this album.  In total, I count 20 tracks across all versions.  Fakin' Jax and this song are the crown jewels.  If you listen to the lyrics carefully, you'll note that Rob-O's 30th birthday was ruined by 9-11.

Artist:  A Tribe Called Quest
Song:  Bonita Applebum
Year:  1990
Album:  People's Instinctive Travels And The Paths Of Rhythm

A Tribe Called Quest introduced me to this sample, but they mostly used it for their introduction.

Artist:  Rotary Connection
Song:  Memory Band
Year:  1968
Album:  Rotary Connection

The Chicago group that introduced the world to Minnie Riperton, their catalog is great. Anything with the Cadet Concept label is worth listening to.  Listen carefully to the background and you'll hear Minnie's operatic voice signing.

The InI bassline is a 4-bar creation.  The first 3 bars are the sample starting at 0:34 and the final bar is the one bar from 0:36.  The chorus signing is 8 bars:  bars one to four are the sample from 0:16, the next 6 beats are again from 0:16, the next 8 beats move to the sample starting at 0:37 and then then final two beats are from 0:24.

A Tribe Called Quest used the sample from 0:15 throughout the song.  The vocal sample starting at 0:16 was used only in the introduction.

80 Blocks From Tiffany's - Mic Check (2011) sampled Eddie Kendricks - My People... Hold On (1972)

Artist:  80 Blocks From Tiffany's (Pete Rock and Camp Lo)
Song:  Mic Check
Year:  2011
Album:  The Tiffany Blue Mixtape Pt 1

This is a request to Pete Rock and Camp Lo to please release the 80 Blocks From Tiffany's LP.  I've been waiting for almost two years now.  Please!

Artist:  AZ
Song:  AZ's Chillin'
Year:  2005
Album:  A.W.O.L.

AZ has quietly created a large catalog, here is a lesser known track.

Artist:  Statik Selektah (featuring Consequence)
Song:  Life Is Short
Year:  2010
Album:  100 Proof: The Hangover

My friend, RGH, sent the video for this on Youtube when it came out and I thought it was really funny. 

Artist:  Eddie Kendricks
Song:  My People...Hold On
Year:  1972
Album:  People...Hold On

This song has been sampled a lot, but the drums are where my focus is.

 

80 Blocks From Tiffany's created a one-bar drum loop where the first bass drum is from 0:00 and the first clap is from 0:03.  Next come the three bass kicks from 0:02 and finally another clap from 0:12.

 

AZ and Statik Selektah created slightly different variations of the beat with the same basic ingredients.

Hard Knocks - Ghetto Love (1992) sampled Sun - Time Is Passing (1977)

Artist:  Hard Knocks
Song:  Ghetto Love
Year:  1992
Album:  School Of Hard Knocks

This is an overlooked classic from the Hip Hop golden era.  Definitely worth a listen.

Artist:  Pete Rock
Song:  Just A Word Or Two
Year:  2009
Album:  Not Officially Released

I have no clue where this track comes from, but it's a great example of a Pete Rock solo joint with no guest appearances.  Maybe it was limited release vinyl, but in 2009 it is possibly a digital-only release.  It's not on any single or album that I know of.

Artist:  Dr. Dre
Song:  The Car Bomb
Year:  1999
Album:  (The Chronic) 2001

Dr. Dre even puts great music in his skits, like another of his skits I posted.

Artist:  Sun
Song:  Time Is Passing
Year:  1977
Album:  Sun-Power

Some of my earliest digging was Sun because the records were only a few dollars.  The samples are much slower in the original song.

 

The Hard Knocks intro and chorus are the 2-bar loop that begins at 0:42.  The verse sample is the 2-bar loop from 0:34.

 

Pete Rock's 1-beat loop at the beginning is from 0:57.  The verse is the 2-bar loop from 0:34.  The chorus introduces vocals that sing "Just to hear from you a word or two, just to drop a line to say you're mine" from 1:46.  Also, during the chorus you can hear the 2-bar loop from 0:50 played twice and then the four-bar sample from 0:42.

 

Dr. Dre used the same samples as Hard Knocks, the 2-bar loop from 0:42 and then the 2-bar loop from 0:34.

Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - Check It Out (1994) sampled Young-Holt Unlimited - Bumpin' On Young Street (1973)

Artist:  Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth
Song:  Check It Out
Year:  1994
Album:  The Main Ingredient

I think this is a great album but what's really funny to me is how almost every track contains a sample of Biz Markie or Big Daddy Kane.

Artist:  Da King & I
Song:  What's Up Doc
Year:  1993
Album:  Contemporary Jeep Music

I have to mention that these guys used a different sample from the same song and did it earlier than Pete Rock.  93 Flava!

Artist:  Young-Holt Unlimited
Song:  Bumpin' On Young Street
Year:  1973
Album:  Oh Girl

I still remember in the late 1990's walking into Cosmos Records on Queen Street in Toronto and hearing this song.  I quickly asked what it was.  The Toronto version of this song would be "Bumpin' On Yonge Street".  The Da King & I sample occurs at 1:48 and the Pete Rock sample at 1:57.

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.

Pete Rock - Markd4Death (2003) sampled Norman Connors - Butterfly Dreams (1973)

Artist:  Pete Rock
Song:  Markd4Death
Year:  2003
Album:  Hip Hop Underground Soul Classics

This one is a bit confusing.  Pete Rock was not able to release the InI "Center Of Attention" album or the Deda "The Original Baby Pa" album back in 1995/1996 when I was looking forward to both projects.  Fortunately, my friend RGH acquired a cassette of the InI album and that satisfied me for years before this album finally gave me the Deda record.  Both albums are classics if you like Pete Rock.  The strange thing is that this song is on the Deda album but he doesn't appear on it, instead it seems to be a song by a group called Ex Cons.

Artist:  Norman Connors
Song:  Butterfly Dreams
Year:  1973
Album:  Dark Of Light

This is a great jazz album and very different from his later work.  The Pete Rock song put in some labour.  The intro is a small sample that occurs at 0:12 for a half bar, repeated 4 times at increasing pitches.  During the main part of the song, this same sample serves as the final half bar of the two-bar loop.  The first bar and a half comes from the sample starting at 0:06.

Pete Rock - Strange Fruit (1998) sampled David Axelrod - The Smile (1968)

Artist:  Pete Rock
Song:  Strange Fruit
Year:  1998
Album:  Soul Survivor

Continuing the Pete Rock and Sticky Fingaz collaboration from my last post, here is another jewel.  Pete Rock assembled a diverse and interesting cast for this haunting beat:  Tragedy Khadafi, Cappadonna and Sticky Fingaz (sounds great here).

Artist:  Lord Finesse
Song:  Actual Facts
Year:  1995
Album:  The Awakening (Hidden Bonus Track)

Three years earlier, Lord Finesse assembled an All-Star team on a similar beat:  Sadat X, Large Professor and Grand Puba.

Artist:  Royce Da 5'9"
Song:  Shake This
Year:  2009
Album:  Street Hop

There is some good music in the David Axelrod song outside of the piano samples and Royce Da 5'9" took advantage of that.

Artist:  David Axelrod
Song:  The Smile
Year:  1968
Album:  Song Of Innocence

David Axelrod is responsible for some of the greatest Hiphop samples.  I also admire him for the concepts he brings to his albums (i.e. religion, environmentalism, etc.).  Pete Rock used two samples:  The two note piano sample located at 3:08 and the other piano at 3:13.  Lord Finesse used the 2-bar loop starting at 3:07 and added to that foundation.  Royce Da 5'9" used 4 samples.  The first is for his chorus, it appears at the 1:16 mark, but he also uses the note at 1:27 to start subsequent loops.  The verse uses three samples as it builds, located at 2:01, 2:09 and 2:19.