Portlander Andy Baio runs Waxy.org and he just put up a link to a fantastic compendium of breaks and samples. DJs Kon and Amir were asked by Complex.com to list their 50 favorite samples in hiphop history, and the veteran cratediggers skipped over the obvious picks for some great (and in some cases, pretty obscure) breaks. You can listen to the 50 original source tracks—some of the finest funk and soul you’ve ever heard—plus the 50 hiphop tracks those samples appeared on in later years. Have you actually ever listened to the hiphop sample and the original, back to back? I hadn’t, and it’s pretty edifying. For example, you can hear Public Enemy’s “Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos” and immediately follow it with Isaac Hayes’ “Hyperbolicsyllabicsequedalymistic,” or check out Manzel’s “Space Funk” and hear how Eric B + Rakim interpolated it for “The R.”
Check ’em all out. You just figured out what you’re listening to this Friday.
via Waxy
End Hits: Soundtracking your sunny day.
DO THIS MORE OFTEN PLEASE.
The list needs more “Apache”.
I’ve been saying this about practically all 50 of these samples for years.
Glad to have some citations to point to! 🙂
And what Colin and tk said.
Amazing. Just spent an hour listening to every one. Thanks, Ned.
Had no idea Kool and the Gang had such a rich history before their “Celebration”-era tunes.