Five On It: September 2008's Essentials

Wow, September has already come to a close, and that means another installment of Five On It, the five tracks you need most from the last month (though, honestly, this month was a killer and you do need to check out more than five).

Isaac Hayes' gigantic drum drop on 'Walk on By' was mentioned in this blog's first entry to a review of Biggie's 'Ready to Die'. 'Walk on By' will be covered extensively in at least one future post on this blog, but it's an absolutely necessary download if you don't already have it (and if you don't - why not?). Biggie's 'Ready to Die' was laced with another high profile sample: The Isley Brothers' 'Between the Sheets'. 'Between the Sheets' (and the instrumental on the single) are easy selections for sliding into 'Big Poppa' and winding down a night (or building up a party). 'Between the Sheets' was mentioned in the second 'Ready to Die' post, check out the other samples you may have missed.

Our blog covered 'Cavern' by Liquid Liquid in depth for it's post in the Breaks section. I've personally got a mini-mix cooking with 'Cavern' playing a prominent role - it's the perfect 'I know it but I don't know it' track for dancefloors. Eric B. and Rakim's 'Paid in Full' was covered in full on this blog and one of the many James Brown related tracks sampled on 'Paid in Full' is the J.B.'s burner 'The Grunt', perhaps best utilized by the Bomb Squad for Public Enemy. In any case, it's a classic break you need to have. In this blog's extensive producer profile for David Axelrod, his production for David McCallum's 'The Edge' was among the many breaks mentioned. That blog post alone is thick with beats, but 'the Edge' is one of the most notable because of it's use on a gigantic Dr. Dre hit.

The Lowdown:
Isaac Hayes 'Walk on By' (Radio Edit)
from 'Hot Buttered Soul' (1968) (MP3/CD)
The Isley Brothers 'Between the Sheets'
from 'Between the Sheets' (1982) (MP3/CD)
Liquid Liquid 'Cavern'
from 'Optimo' (1982) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
The J.B.'s 'The Grunt'
from 'Food for Thought' (1972) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
David McCallum 'The Edge'
from 'Music: A Bit More of Me' (1967) (MP3 not available/CD not available)

BONUS CUTS:
'Between the Sheets' is far from the only sample from the Isley Brother's 80s album 'Between the Sheets' that has been used by hip-hop artists. The Jay-Z and Too Short cut 'A Week Ago' samples the album cut 'Ballad for the Fallen Soldier' while the DJ U-Neek produced 'Buddah Lovaz' by Bone Thugs-n-Harmony samples the single 'Choosey Lover' by the Isleys (which was also notably coverd by Aaliyah). Don't overlook this album as another 80s outing by a band past their peak - 'Between the Sheets' has beats!