hyssop

Well, I thought I’d flip it around this week and dig up some tunes that sample some of favorite R&B groups. Turns out that’s been more difficult than imagined, but I shall persevere, and here’s a start. My uncle (henceforth referred to simply as “Unk”) introduced me to Dyke and The Blazers 6 or 8 years ago, and my life has been happier ever since. If you don’t own the album “So Sharp!” go out and buy it!

Dyke & The Blazers – Broadway Combination

Big Daddy Kane – Chocolate City

 Another song that was hotly requested at the epic graduation party was Lil Wayne’s “Lollipop,” so I was doing a little digging on this song and came across this on it’s wikipedia entry:

“Some critics reflected the song’s background music from the theme song of the motion picture, 28 Weeks Later. ”

Certainly poorly written, but is it true? What critics? Why no citation? So I had to dig this up, and while I understand why the allegation might be made, I don’t think there’s anything particularly fishy going on with the 4 notes that seem to be the same. But hey, give it a listen and judge for yourself:

28 Weeks Later – Theme

Lil Wayne – Lollipop

This little tune has got to be one of the most sampled songs ever when it comes to early 90’s hip hop. The Craig Mack example could just as easily have been Das EFX (Klap Ya Handz), Big Daddy Kane (Ain’t No Half Steppin’), LL Cool J (Pink Cookies in a Plastic Bag), Redman (Redman Meets Reggie Noble), etc etc etc…

The Emotions- Blind Alley

Craig Mack – Funk Wit Da Style

Let’s press pause on the sample hunting project for a moment to dig up a cover of an 80’s gem:

Wilman De Jesus – Walk Like An Egyptian (Pytter Mix)

Bangles – Walk Like An Egyptian

I had the fortune of dj’ing an 8th grade graduation party for the daughter of a friend last week in my studio space. It was a little surreal, but let me tell you something about 8th (soon to be 9th) graders – they don’t yet have that adult filter that restrains their enthusiasm for songs they love. When I’d play something particularly popular the entire room would scream, and it was pretty damn satisfying. Anyway, you might be wondering to yourself “what do 8th graders listen to at parties these days?” Well, I now know the answer is Akon, TI, Beyonce… mostly rap, r&b, that sort of thing.

One of the most requested songs that night was “Don’t Stop The Music” by Rihanna. I think the kids probably knew about Michael Jackson, whether they recognized the sample or not, but I wonder if any of them knew the song behind the song “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’?” So here’s some study material for the summer, and good luck in high school y’all!

Rihanna – Don’t Stop the Music

Michael Jackson – Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’

Manu Dibango – Soul Makossa

Seeing as how Boston would not have had our most recent parade without a little help from Minnesota, I figured I’d send a little love that way… hope you guys enjoyed watching KG win it all, and sorry it didn’t happen while he was there. By the way, you’ve got a really good rap outfit too, and this Cannonball track they pulled a sample from is pretty funny and a nice blues:

Atmosphere – Guns and Cigarettes

Cannonball Adderley – Oh Babe

Next up in our game of connect the musical dots is not, strictly speaking, a sample but rather a mashup. I’m of the opinion that there are good mashups, which are an interesting and unusual combination of two songs, and then there are great mashups, which happen when the combined song is actually better than the two songs they are mashing together. This, to me, is a great mashup, along with it’s two original elements. By the way there are more freely downloadable mashups from these guys here. Also, you might know can’t-get-any-nastier Bangers and Cash better as Spank Rock and Benny Blanco.

Bee Gees – You Should Be Dancing

Bangers and Cash – Loose

team9 – Loose Dancing

…which brings us to the great Mr. Maceo Parker, who I had the fortune of seeing live in Portland, Maine 6 or 7 years ago, and this tune from his band Maceo & The Macks. A little gem from this tune was sampled by Rich Harrison for J-Lo’s Get Right (at the 2:01 mark, although he also grabs the “sproing” sound from the intro)

Maceo & The Macks – Soul Power 74

Jennifer Lopez – Get Right

Oh yeah… 2008 WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I went to sleep last night to the slowly oscillating sound of four helicopters overhead. Reporting or crowd control? I don’t know, but it’s a beautiful sound…

Continuing our Rich Harrison/pop diva theme, here’s another track he produced featuring the delectable Amerie and using a sample from The Meters (the sample’s at 1:41):

The Meters – Oh, Calcutta!

Amerie – 1 Thing

I’ve got a fun lineup for you this week – it’s summer, so we’re going to check out a few pop hits from some superstar ladies of R&B. Let’s start with Beyoncé. Everybody knows Jay-Z contributed to this track, but so did DC native-son producer Rich Harrison, and that’s the other theme I’ll be exploring this week:

Chi-Lites – Are You My Woman (Tell Me So)

Beyoncé – Crazy In Love