F.T. - F.T. (The Anthem) (2009) sampled Prince And The Revolution - The Beautiful Ones (1984)

Artist:  F.T.
Song:  F.T. (The Anthem)
Year:  2009
Album:  Purple Pain Mixtape

F.T. AKA Fuc That (Street Smartz) is the Brooklyn Beast.  Black Milk created a mixtape of beats using Prince samples and F.T. rhymed over those tracks.  This one is my favourite but there are other great songs as well.

Artist:  Rapper Big Pooh
Song:  When I'm Done
Year:  2010
Album:  The Purple Tape

Phonte might technically be the better Emcee from Little Brother but Rapper Big Pooh has grown on me over the years to become the one I'm following closely.  After F.T. introduced me to these beats, I was really excited to learn that Rapper Big Pooh blessed them again.

Artist:  Black Milk
Song:  Track 9
Year:  2008
Album:  Music From The Color Purple (Beat Sampler)

When everyone was listening to Thriller by Michael Jackson, I was more into Purple Rain by Prince.  I think that Black Milk is a genius for chopping up Prince's sounds and making a whole album of instrumentals inspired by the Purple One.  F.T. and Rapper Big Pooh did justice to this effort.  Press play and get your freestyle on.

Artist:  Prince And The Revolution
Song:  The Beautiful Ones
Year:  1984
Album:  Purple Rain

Since Black Milk reveals the Prince sample at the end of each track, it wasn't too hard for anyone to figure this out, but he put some work into the construction of this beat.  All three Hip Hop tracks use the same 4-bar loop composed of the following pieces.  At around 3:24, Prince sings "Do you want him?" and the loop starts with the word "him" and continues until Prince sings "or do you want me?"  The "or do you want" is replaced by part of the loop from bar 1 and bar 2 begins with the word "me" (3:28).  After Prince sings "cause I want you" just before 3:34, there are three guitar notes.  Note 3, then note 1, then note 2 conclude the second bar.  The third and fourth bars are the same as the first two except at the end of the fourth bar when the order of the guitar notes becomes 2, 3 and 1.

Street Smartz - Metal Thangz (Remix) (1997) sampled Deniece Williams - I Believe In Miracles (1982)

Artist:  Street Smartz
Song:  Metal Thangz (Remix)
Year:  1997
Album:  Tru Criminal Records EP

More Street Smartz!  This blog is becoming a shrine to F.T.  I still recite parts of these verses while walking down the street 14 years later.  These are classic lyrics that still hold up today.  F.T. kills it.

Artist:  Rob-O
Song:  World Premier
Year:  2006
Album:  Rhyme Pro

I believe Rob-O created this song well before 2006, but I heard it first on this album.  Rhyme Pro is a compilation of some of Rob-O's older material which I recognize from the late 1990's.  Some good Pete Rock production appears elsewhere on this album.

Artist:  Deniece Williams
Song:  I Believe In Miracles
Year:  1982
Album:  Niecy

There is quite a gap between the lyrics of Deniece Williams and those of F.T.  The Street Smartz sample is a two-bar loop starting at 0:08.  Occasionally, the two-bar loop at 0:17 can be heard.  Rob-O used four-bar loops in his song.  The verse loops start with two bars from 0:08, then one bar from 0:05 repeats twice.  The chorus loop starts with two bars from 0:17 and is followed by a mix of two samples: the one bar from 0:05 and the one bar from 0:22 repeat twice.

Street Smartz - Problemz (1996) sampled Jorge Dalto - I've Got You On My Mind (1976)

Artist:  Street Smartz
Song:  Problemz
Year:  1996
Album:  Problemz b/w Metal Thangz 12-inch Single

Fuc That, Stand Out!  Since my last Street Smartz post has proven to be so popular, here's another one.  I don't blame any of you for searching out his music because F.T. has captured the mid-1990's vibe perfectly.

Artist:  Jorge Dalto
Song:  I've Got You On My Mind
Year:  1976
Album:  Chevere

Great song, the sample occurs at 0:16.

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.