Godfather Lives Through:
Hip-Hop’s Top 25
James Brown
Sampled Records.
Originally published in Scratch, March/April 2007.
PREFACE: I originally compiled this list as a companion piece to a James Brown memorial for Scratch magazine not long after the Godfather of Soul’s passing on Christmas Day, 2006. On this, what would have been his 79th birthday, I’ve resurrected the piece and revamped it a little, re-formatting it in similar fashion to how we’ve been doing our sample flips posts. Even though the story’s original title emphasizes the premise that these are the 25 greatest rap records to sample James Brown or James Brown productions, the competitive rankings were honestly less important to me when I wrote it than simply presenting something that celebrated the range of James’ influence on hip-hop over different eras. Frankly, I don’t think there’s any way to reduce the importance of James Brown’s music to hip-hop to 25 examples because without James Brown there is no hip-hop (not to mention any other form of modern club or dance related music). And that applies whether you’re talking hip-hop constructed via samples, or played by keyboard or band, or built from (turntable) scratch. That said, here’s the list. Feel free to suggest your favorites or hit the comments section with miscellaneous feedback/complaints. But just be sure while you’re at it to wish the Godfather a happy birthday. RIP, James Brown – always and forever the star of the show.
(In Chronological Order)
1. Boogie Down Productions – “South Bronx” (B-Boy, 1986)
Producer: Boogie Down Productions
Sample Sources/Interpolations:
James Brown – “Funky Drummer” (King, 1970)
James Brown – “Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved” (King, 1971)
James Brown – “Get Up Offa That Thing” (Polydor, 1976)
Afrika Bambaataa & James Brown – “Unity (Interlude)” (Tommy Boy, 1984)
KRS-One and Scott La Rock’s seminal hip-hop history lesson/Juice Crew dis remains as succinct a representation of James Brown’s sampled legacy in hip-hop as there is. Its multi-pitched horn stabs, filtered “Funky Drummer” snares, rapid-fire vocal tics, and re-played guitar licks are all cherry-picked from vintage Godfather grooves.
2. Eric B. & Rakim – “Eric B. Is President” (Zakia, 1986)
Producer: Marley Marl
Sample Source: James Brown – “Funky President” (People It’s Bad)” (Polydor, 1974)
Contrary to what the title may have suggested, “Eric B. Is President” left virtually all the main musical elements of James Brown’s “Funky President” untouched. Instead producer Marley Marl repeatedly pillaged the original’s three-beat drum fill intro like a true commander-in-thief, fueling the fire of Rakim Allah’s historic inaugural address.
3. Kool G Rap & DJ Polo – “It’s a Demo” (Cold Chillin’, 1986)
Producer: Marley Marl
Sample Source: James Brown – “Funky Drummer” (King, 1970)
James Brown – “Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine” (King, 1970)
Generally considered the first hip-hop record to heavily utilize “Funky Drummer,” G Rap’s debut provided Marley Marl (get used to reading his name here, kids) another early demo(nstration) of his production wizardry, arranging JB-sampled grunts, spoken intros, guitar riffs, and those infamous snares into a hypnotic, reverb-soaked transmission from the galaxy of Queens.
4. Big Daddy Kane – “Raw” (Prism, 1987)
Producer: Marley Marl
Sample Sources: Bobby Byrd – “Hot Pants (I’m Coming, I’m Coming, I’m Coming)” (Brownstone, 1971)
James Brown – “Escape-Ism” (People, 1971)
Lyn Collins – “Mama Feelgood” (People, 1973)
James Brown – “Papa Don’t Take No Mess” (Polydor, 1974)
“Raw” finds Marley Marl perfecting the James Brown-based musical recipe introduced by “It’s a Demo.” A kinetic Bobby Byrd rhythm track, a sharply truncated sax squeal, and DJ Mister Cee’s itchin’ array of scratch cuts inspire King Asiatic to deliver the defining performance of his career.
5. Eric B. & Rakim – “I Know You Got Soul” (4th & B’way, 1987)
Producer: Eric B. & Rakim
Sample Source: Bobby Byrd – “I Know You Got Soul” (King, 1968)
Abandoning any semblance of subtlety, Eric & Ra boldly borrowed the title, main guitar groove, and hook of the JB-produced Bobby Byrd tune, essentially remaking the former Famous Flame’s solo classic as a Golden Era anthem.
6. Public Enemy – “Public Enemy #1” (Def Jam, 1987)
Producer: The Bomb Squad
Sample Source: Fred Wesley & the JB’s – “Blow Your Head” (People, 1974)
What began innocently enough as a pause tape promo for Chuck D’s Adelphi University radio show would become P.E.’s entrée into Def Jam, and the blueprint for the Bomb Squad’s unprecedented excursions into controlled aural chaos. And a blaring JB’s synthesizer sample is the sonic snippet that started it all.
7. Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud – “Do the James” (Citi-Beat, 1987)
Producer: Paul C
Sample Sources:
James Brown – “Blues & Pants” (Polydor, 1971)
James Brown – “Intro” (Revolution of the Mind: Live at the Apollo Vol. 3) (Polydor, 1971)
The first JB-sampled hip-hop track to formally name-check James himself is one of the late, great producer/engineer Paul C.’s most lasting creations. With a monstrously EQ-ed “Impeach the President” holding down the low end, and the voice of James’ trusty show emcee Danny Ray punctuating the choruses, the “Blues & Pants” guitar line is the glue that makes this groove forever grand.
8. 45 King – “The 900 Number” (Tuff City, 1988)
Producer: 45 King
Sample Source: Marva Whitney – “Unwind Yourself” (King, 1968)
Proof positive that not all two-bar loops are created equal, this timeless party igniter from Orange, New Jersey’s crown royal still exudes maximum sax appeal.
9. Big Daddy Kane – “Set It Off” (Cold Chillin’, 1988)
Producer: Marley Marl
Sample Source: James Brown – “Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved” (King, 1971)
If “Raw” was a runaway victory, “Set It Off” – one of Kane, Marley, and the James Brown catalog’s other finest moments together – almost unfairly sprinted laps around the competition. The stinging guitar from “Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved’s” legendary break (also flipped by Marley for G Rap & Polo’s nearly equally nasty “Poison”) powers this fast rap classic into overdrive.
10. Biz Markie – “The Vapors” (Cold Chillin’, 1988)
Producer: Marley Marl
Sample Source: James Brown – “Papa Don’t Take No Mess” (Polydor, 1974)
James’ ode to a punishment-dispensing patriarch will forever be linked with Biz’s beloved tale of around the way comeuppance. Marley Marl’s simple one-bar loop proves that less sometimes beats the hell out of more.
11. Public Enemy – It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (Def Jam, 1988)
Producer: The Bomb Squad
Sample Sources: Too many to name.
Not just culturally and musically the greatest hip-hop album of all-time, P.E.’s epochal sophomore effort is the godhead of Godfather sample spotting. From the “I Got Ants In My Pants”-based bump of “Don’t Believe the Hype” to the frenzied “It’s My Thing” brass assault of “Bring the Noise” to the rise and fall “Grunt” whistles of “Rebel Without a Pause” and “Terminator X to the Edge of Panic” to the “Soul Power” stabs of “Caught, Can I Get a Witness” (appropriately enough, a defense of sampling as art), rhythm, rhyme, and revolutionary real talk have never coalesced so completely.
12. Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock – “It Takes Two” (Profile, 1988)
Producer: Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock
Sample Source: Lyn Collins – “Think (About It)” (People, 1972)
Still dare to doubt that James’ extended instrumentals and hip-hop are inexorably linked by the joy of repetition? Revisit this Harlem duo’s summer of ’88 monster, in which JB’s orgasmic “whoop” audaciously stays on loop for a full five minutes of funk.
13. Ultramagnetic MC’s – “Give the Drummer Some” (Next Plateau, 1988)
Producer: Paul C.
Sample Source: Dee Felice Trio – “There Was a Time” (King, 1969)
Another masterpiece from Paul C., who somehow isolated the drums off of Dee Felice’s unlikely original (a James-produced jazz trio treatment of one of his funk standards), and smacked the beat up beyond comprehension.
14. Gang Starr – “Words I Manifest (Remix)” (Wild Pitch, 1989)
Producer: DJ Premier
Sample Source: James Brown – “Bring It Up” (King, 1967)
Gang Starr’s first proper single is a musical genius fantasy league triumvirate digitally come to life: James Brown meets Charlie Parker accompanied by DJ Premier on turntables. Three times dope.
15. Brand Nubian – “All For One” (Elektra, 1990)
Producer: Brand Nubian
Sample Sources:
James Brown – “Can Mind” (King, 1971)
James Brown – “All For One” (Polydor, 1974)
Buried deep within James’ relatively obscure, all-instrumental Sho Is Funky Down Here LP is the sneaky sample that forms the basis of Brand Nubian’s signature tune – a subtle one-bar loop that appreciates immeasurably with each repetition.
16. Geto Boys – “Mind of a Lunatic” (Def American, 1990)
Producer: Geto Boys
Sample Source: The J.B.’s – “Givin’ Up Food For Funk” (People, 1972)
Though used benignly enough on other important rap recordings (Big Daddy Kane’s “Wrath of Kane”; Ultramagnetic MCs’ “Kool Keith Housing Things”) the J.B.’s “Givin’ Up” took on a far more ominous tone in the hands of H-Town’s GB’s, who exploited the track’s minor key melody as a backdrop for a deranged tale of rape, murder, and – whoa! – Necrophilia. XXXplosive.
17. Jungle Brothers – “J. Beez Comin’ Through” (Warner Bros.,1990)
Producer:
Sample Sources:
James Brown – “There It Is (Live)” (previously unreleased track; Polydor, 1988)
The J.B.’s – “Introduction to the JB’s” (People, 1973)
Was it shrewd planning or pure luck that this flagship Native Tongue group’s initials matched those of the Godfather’s at the height of the JB sampling craze? Whatever the case the J. Beez’s early ’90s NYC club banger benefits hugely from James’ booming sampled voice tirelessly cheerleading, “The J.B.’s! The J.B.’s! The J.B.’s!”
18. Main Source ft. Nas, Joe Fatal & Akinyele – “Live At the Barbeque” (Wild Pitch, 1991)
Producer: Large Professor
Sample Source: Vicki Anderson – “I Want to Live in the Land of Milk & Honey” (King, 1969)
As sample-able non-James Brown material goes Bob James’ “Nautilus” is virtually always money in the bank. Pair it, as Large Professor does here, with the haunting guitar of JB-produced soul diva Vicki Anderson’s melodramatic late ’60s belter, and the shit is tighter than the locks on Fort Knox.
19. Das EFX – “They Want EFX” (EastWest, 1992)
Producer: Das EFX
Sample Source: James Brown – “Blind Man Can See It” (Polydor, 1973)
Any danger of Das’ tongue-twisting debut single coming off too cutesy was quelled by the track’s brawny beat – a regal guitar and Fender Rhodes loop from King James’ Black Caesar soundtrack.
20. Showbiz & AG – “Soul Clap” (Showbiz, 1992)
Producer: Showbiz
Sample Sources:
The J.B.’s – “More Peas” (People, 1973)
The J.B.’s – “The Grunt Pt. 1” (King, 1969)
D.I.T.C.’s dynamic duo arrange JB’s-sampled basslines to perfection – and reinvigorate “The Grunt’s” high-end sax shriek to boot – on this enduring South Bronx party groove.
21. Notorious B.I.G. – “Dreams” (Bad Boy promo, 1994)
Producer: Buttnaked Tim Dawg
Sample Source: James Brown – “Blues & Pants” (Polydor, 1971)
Biggie’s infamous assessment of the women of R&B receives much of its party-time push thanks to Bad Boy’s timely resuscitation of the “Blues & Pants” guitar loop. Besides an unreleased Uptown Records demo (“Biggie Got the Hype Shit” – based on James’ “I Got to Move”), and his appearance on Total’s “Can’t You See” (based on “The Payback”) this would be one of B.I.G.’s few opportunities to record over a classic James Brown beat in his lifetime.
22. LL Cool J – “I Shot Ya” (Def Jam, 1995)
Producer: Trackmasters
Sample Source: Lyn Collins – “Put It On the Line” (People, 1975)
James Todd Smith proved that his repertoire hadn’t gone completely Hollywood (or Hallmark) when he dropped the electric “I Shot Ya” in the midst of his second comeback. Still an instrumental favored by angry emcees to rhyme over whenever the beef cooks, the track’s terse string and piano line come courtesy James Brown’s favored ’70s female foil, Lyn Collins.
23. Lil’ Kim ft. Puff Daddy – “No Time” (Undeas, 1996)
Producer: Puff Daddy
Sample Source: Myra Barnes (a/k/a Vicki Anderson) – “The Message From the Soul Sisters” (King, 1970)
While Lil’ Kim’s first solo smash certainly wasn’t the first hip-hop single on which we’d heard the funky piano sample at its core (see YZ & G Rock’s 1989 gem “In Control of Things,” amongst others), it was undoubtedly the biggest. Fortunately, producer Puffy recognized the raw appeal of the main loop from Vicki Anderson’s “The Message From the Soul Sisters,” and largely resisted the temptation to mess up – by overly dressing up – a good thing.
24. Slum Village – “I Don’t Know” (Goodvibe, 2000)
Producer: J Dilla
Sample Sources: James Brown – “Make It Funky” (Polydor, 1971) & a gang of others.
By the new millennium James Brown-related samples in rap were basically dormant. Leave it to Slum Village’s aural architect, the late, great J. Dilla to revive the practice in the most inventive of fashions, flipping a frenetic series of James vocal samples in a witty call-and-response between the Godfather and the SV three.
25. Jay-Z – “U Don’t Know” (Roc-A-Fella, 2001)
Producer: Just Blaze
Sample Source: Bobby Byrd – “I’m Not to Blame” (King, 1970)
Given the dominant musical game plan (sped up soul samples) of Jigga’s Blueprint, it was only right that some James Brown-produced material infiltrate the X’s and O’s. Producer Just Blaze co-opts the dramatic strings and soulful testimonials of Bobby Byrd’s urgent “I’m Not to Blame,” pushes up the pitch to its breaking point, and transforms the elements into a powerful manifesto on the the meaning of ’Hov.
YOU MIGHT WANNA PEEP:
- • James Brown: The Shining
- • WATCH: James Brown Japanese Cup O Noodles Commercial (1992)
- • SEE, HEAR: James Brown Documentary – “Soul Brother No.1″ (1978).
