Sampling: A Thank You to the Greats
In the act of MCing, it is always important to pay tribute to the DJ as a form of
recognizing those that came before them and those that made the sharing of their art possible.
Just like MCing, sampling is a unique way of recognizing and showing gratitude towards the
past. Masters of funk, jazz, and R&B like James Brown and Miles Davis, paved the way for the
hip-hop community, and are still seen as heavy influences for contemporary hip-hop and R&B
artists like Kendrick Lamar and Erykah Badu. Sampling and mirroring styles is a form of thanks
and recognition given to those that came before.A large portion of the beginnings of hip-hop (and hip-hop now), was how the music made you move. In “Hip-Hop Drumming: The Rhyme May Define, but the Groove Makes You Move,” an essay by Jeff Greenwald for the Black Music Research Journal, he digs into what made a good song for the dance floor. Greenwald says, “The bass drum is important to the beat because it signifies movement on the dance floor, largely through matching the rhythm and sonic force of the bass.” This is the primary reason that James Brown’s “Funky Drummer” was so frequently used in DJ sets. This breakbeat was one so desirable that it has become “one of the most-sampled beats used in hip-hop music comes from James Brown’s “Funky Drummer” (1970), with Clyde Stubblefield on drums(Greenwald 261).”
The breakbeat and various elements of the track were sampled in N.W.A.’s “Fuck da Police(1988),” Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power(1988),” and countless more. James Brown’s track has been sampled across all genres, with artists including Sinead O’Connor, Mos Def, and Emeli Sande to name a few. Although, the genius of this breakbeat didn’t just arise out of nowhere.
James Brown’s “Funky Drummer” had “breaks that proved to be something of a goldmine (Early),” explains N. Ali Early. In an article by Early, entitled “Hip-Hop Records Sampled James Brown. His First Funk Record Sampled Miles Davis,” he discusses the development of funk music out of jazz. He also tells the remarkable story of the creation of James Brown’s “Cold Sweat,” another track with a contagious breakbeat. In the songwriting process, one of James Brown’s band members mentioned the song being heavily influenced by Miles Davis’ “So What” from the Kind of Blue record. More specifically, he referenced the “dee dumph” cadence of the notes that serve as the song’s backbone.
There is a Miles Davis quote that reads, “Sometimes you have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself.” This speaks to both the power of artistic influences as well as the power allotted to creating art unique to oneself. To me, the journey of an artist’s creation of music is comparable to the journey of raising a kid. My mom always said that raising a child takes a village. It’s the same with songwriting. You must consult the past, present, and future, consider your community and environment, as well as genuine personal perspectives and identities. Erykah Badu does this flawlessly.
Her song “Rimshot (Intro),” on her album live 1997 album, is quintessential and representative of the Badu sound. However, upon first listen, there is a subtle nod to Miles Davis. The same two notes that are played with for the entirety of Miles Davis’ “So What” from the Kind of Blue record. What’s interesting is in this same detail, Badu was thanking James Brown as well, giving a nod to those that helped define her genre and space in the industry.
With sampling, often comes the intention of politicizing a song, or communicating the context to the listener. Tricia Rose writes in her book, Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America, a very important point about the act of sampling. Discussing the MCing of Grandmaster Flash, Rose says “using multiple samples as dialogue, commentary, percussive rhythms, and counterpoint, Flash achieved a level of musical collage and climax with two turntables that remains difficult to attain on advanced sampling equipment ten years later (Rose 54).” This “musical collage” to communicate with listeners is still prominent. Kendrick Lamar’s 2017 album, DAMN exemplifies this. He reflects on his identity and his journey with his community and the media’s influence. This album is representative to many as a major political rap album. On the first track on the album, “BLOOD,” the song ends with an alternative, but very strong sample from a Fox News show. In the clip, the two white, conservative news anchors are critiquing Lamar’s song “Alright,” which has been at the epicenter of the Black Lives Matter Movement. The quoted portion of their discourse is: “Uh, Lamar stated his views on police brutality with that line in the song, quoted ‘and we hate the popo, wanna kill us in the street fo' sho.’ Oh please, ugh, I don't like it.”
For NPR, Andrew Limbong writes about the importance of “Alright” in his article, “Both Party And Protest, ‘Alright’ Is The Sound of Black Life’s Duality.” In the article, Limbong notes Miles Marshall Lewis saying that ‘Alright’ embodies “the ancestors who never received the justice they deserved (NPR).” The inclusion of the Fox News sample speaks to the society we live in today and how he won’t be hindered by voices like this. It also shows that Lamar will always reclaim his own dialogue and won’t let others speak for it.
Interestingly enough, the last track on DAMN, which is “DUCKWORTH,” reveals some of Kendrick’s genuine struggles using samples as an assist to communicate. The song opens with the following lyrics:
“It was always me vs the world Until I found it’s me vs me Why, why, why, why?
Why, why, why, why?
Just remember what happens on earth stays on earth! We gon' put it in reverse.”
In exploring the first two lines, it seems to be commentary on internal versus external challenges. Lamar is alluding to his troubles within his own self as well as in his own community.. Tricia Rose comments on this being an important aspect of hip-hop, stating:
“Like the consciousness-raising sessions in the early stages of the women’s rights movement and black power movement of the 1960s and 1970s, hip hop produced internal and external dialogues that affirmed the experiences and identities of the participants and at the same time offered critiques of larger society that were directed to both the hip hop community and society in general (Rose 60).”
These internal and external dialogues are challenging, but critical to the social and
political goals that are often attached and communicated through hip-hop. The line, “we gon’ put it in reverse,” also references time and acknowledges our pasts. When he shouts this out, it is in the manner of an MC, right before the sample begins playing. Seconds later, we hear Ted Taylor’s “Be Ever Wonderful (1978).” Taylor sings,
“Darling, I told you many times
And I am telling you once again
Just to remind you, sweetheart
That my love for you has never changed.”
This sample repeats in different forms, often chopped and underlaid with the instrumental, throughout the song. It has a nostalgic air to it that makes Lamar’s storytelling in “DUCKWORTH” extremely effective and compelling. The role of the sample is to serve as a reminder as times past, as he says “just to remind you.” In the DISSECT podcast hosted by Cole Cuchna, he emphasizes the work of Kendrick being highly influenced by the fact that he strongly believes in the “transformative power of music (Dissect Podcast Season 5 Episode 19).”
Sampling has become vital to the livelihood of the hip-hop community today. It allows the past to live on. And as is quoted by a Tupac figure in the concluding track of Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly, “Mortal Man,” “because it’s spirits, we ain’t even really rappin’. We just letting our dead homies tell stories for us.” Acknowledging the past, creating in the present, and allowing our ancestors in hip-hop to help inform our future is a grand aspect of the community. Because of this, the greats will live on and their music will continue to shape our world.
Sources / Bibliography
Tricia Rose Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America
https://www.whosampled.com/Kendrick-Lamar/DUCKWORTH./
https://www.npr.org/2019/08/26/753511135/kendrick-lamar-alright-american-anthem-party-protest
https://www.rttnews.com/2508612/kendrick-lamar-says-he-studied-james-brown-for-king-kunta.aspx ?refresh=1
https://www.liveabout.com/how-james-brown-influenced-hip-hop-2857334
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/04/25/erykah-badu-the-godmother-of-soul
Dissect Podcast Season 5
https://genius.com/Kendrick-lamar-duckworth-lyrics
https://ambrosiaforheads.com/2018/12/james-brown-samples-miles-davis/
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/james-brown-most-sampled-man-in-the-biz-115 798/