Good artists copy, great artists steal. Here are some excellent examples of the diversity and innovation in hip-hop made possible by incorporating samples of jazz, funk, rock and other genres. Sampling is taking a small segment, or sample, from a chosen song and inserting it into the hip-hop song, usually looping it to make a continuous beat, where the beat includes the sample and any additional music/drums provided by the DJ. There's a fine line between singing and rapping, as you'll hear in song #2, but even if a rapper sounds monotonous they're still using melodies just like a singer would. For example, Gang Starr claims a "monotone drone", but if you listen closely you can hear how the pitch changes. Whereas great singers are able to carry a note, great rappers are able to punctuate the note, and focus more on the flow. If you pronounce or even just mouth any of the following rap lyrics, you can feel the words flow off the tip of your tongue. So rappers have to combine meaning, melody and flow, which not only includes the physical position of the tongue in the mouth, but also the cadence of the rap - how long to carry a note, how long to pause between notes, etc. It's not easy. Below is just a small sample - I'll come back for Dr. Dre, Snoop, Eminem, and other greats later.
1.
Sample: Ronnie Foster - "Mystic Brew" (1972)
Hip-hop: A Tribe Called Quest - "Electric Relaxation" (1993)
Thanks to Ronnie Foster's punchy bass line and the strategic use of keyboards (both for the chill chords and the twilight-zone chime sounds), this track has a vibe unlike any other. Here they are, A Tribe Called Quest, coming at you with legendary status for a reason. MCs (synonymous with "rappers", from "Master of Ceremonies") Q-Tip (left, one of the most well-respected rappers in history), and Phife dawg (middle) lay their cards on the table when it comes to their love of women, while DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad (right) throws down the beat. Q-Tip starts "Electric Relaxation," and Phife dawg comes in with the classic "I like 'em brown, yellow, Puerto Rican or Haitian." They may sound like womanizers but if you pay attention they're genuine guys ("I couldn't drop dimes 'cause you couldn't relate"), and if you listen to their other stuff you'll see they're highly socially conscious. If you want to get into hip-hop, their Anthology is a great place to start. Jazzy hip-hop doesn't get any better. Just don't play #18 at work. It does have the best bass line, but my boss didn't care.
2.
Sample: Herbie Mann - "Today" (1966)
Hip-hop: The Pharcyde - "Otha Fish" (1992)
Clearly a great sample, but this song is extra special. I've never heard vocals that come close to this. They're a mix of rap, jazz, and soul that are simply unparalleled, even within The Pharcyde. This song could almost be its own subgenre. Check out "Ya Mama" to get a better idea of how much fun these guys are (it's a really good song too).
3.
Sample: Bobby Caldwell - "Open Your Eyes" (1980)
Hip-hop: Common - "The Light" (2005)
Common's timbre is really unique. Everything he says is so emotionally-charged and vital. The Bobby Caldwell vocal backup is one-of-a-kind, and the bass line, which also comes from the sample, matches Common's heavy, uplifting lyrics.
4.
Sample: Boom Clap Bachelors - "Tiden Flyver" (2008)
Hip-hop: Kendrick Lamar - "Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe" (2012)
Here's a sneak peak at the genius of Dr. Dre, who was an executive producer for this ground-breaking album, "good Kid, m.A.A.d. city," although a lot of credit must go to Kendrick, who's clearly very intelligent and has enormous creativity. When I first heard the intro to "Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe" I was blown away. Who would have thought these guys were listening to relatively obscure Danish jazz producers? Just like the Tribe Anthology, I highly recommend going through this entire album. Kendrick's multi-faceted rap style, including high-pitched backup vocals that function as a kind of conscience, is really at the cutting-edge of music. His newer album, To Pimp A Butterfly, is equally unprecedented.
___________
Ok, we're transitioning into gangsta rap now. Try to imagine that all the cops are trying to take you to jail and all the gangsters on the other side of town are trying to kill you. That's how these guys live (or lived, a lot of them were murdered). So keep that in mind when they start dropping f-bombs - these are the words of paranoid, troubled minds - they're not just trying to sound tough. These rappers are among the wise men who were aware of the craziness and futility of their thug lifestyle, which by the way, they couldn't escape no matter how rich they got.
5.
Sample: Billy Paul - "Let's Fall In Love All Over Again" (1970)
Hip-hop: Gang Starr - "Moment of Truth" (1998)
Gang Starr's DJ Premier (right) is one of the greatest producers ever. It takes true genius to listen this sample and hear a hip-hop track (he takes about 2 seconds starting at 0:10 in the sample). Beyond the incredible beat, "Moment of Truth" is one of my favorite hip-hop songs because you can tell Guru (left), the rapper, is being completely open - "Don't even feel like drinkin' or even gettin' high, because all that's gonna do is accelerate the anxieties I'm tryin' to alleviate". In a world of tough guys, that's courageous, and he makes it work because, well, when you've got the magic, you don't care what other people think of you: "Another fake Jack I slay with my spectac rap display." Guru and Premier were a lethal combination.
6.
Sample: Edgar Winter - "Dying To Live" (1971)
Hip-hop: 2Pac, The Notorious B.I.G. - "Runnin' (Dying To Live)" (2002)
Produced by Eminem. For the unfamiliar, Notorious B.I.G. aka Biggie Smalls, raps first, and 2Pac follows. Phenomenal, heavy-hitting raps. Here they are, Biggie on the left, 2Pac on the right. It's more subtle in the other songs on the post - in this one it's more obvious that the function of the sample is to convey a certain feeling that underlies the message in the rap, that the rappers can't quite elicit. You can hear in the beginning of "Runnin'" 2Pac acknowledging that the animosity between himself and Biggie, which appeared epic, was really not as heavy as it seemed. It's difficult for these rappers, despite the fact that they remain (almost without dispute) the two greatest rappers of all time, to express this kind of feeling musically given the fact that they were born to sound deep and heavy. So they use their own lyrics and booming voices to convey their dire situation, while Eminem magically electrifies Edgar Winter's voice by increasing the pitch to hint at the uplifting optimism within 2Pac and Biggie, and to complete the picture, Edgar Winter's lyrics recognize the futility of gang violence. Not to mention the gun shots, explosions, violins, eerie background vocals, deep piano (that you can barely discern), kick drum that sounds like a bass, and drumlines Eminem uses to drop from the Winter sample into the verses and keep them remarkably powerful. It's like Eminem is conducting the most badass orchestra you can imagine.
7.
Sample: Isaac Hayes - "Hung Up On My Baby" (1974)
Hip-hop: Geto Boys - "Mind Playing Tricks On Me" (1991)
Geto Boys hail from Houston, Texas and are known for "Damn It Feels Good To Be A Gangsta" from the movie Office Space. "Hung Up On My Baby" is a classic, and works well for this Geto Boys track. I love how the second rapper phonetically pronounces "sword." Top-notch gangsta rap.
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