The Breaks: Lee Dorsey 'Get Out of My Life Woman' (Part 1)

Last month, Lee Dorsey's essential open drum intro for 'Get Out of My Life Woman' was inducted to our Five On It collection of necessary breaks for hip-hop producers and DJs. I would've liked to expand on why this drum break is so necessary, but it could not have been done in just one part of one post. In total, I have four posts slated to explain 'Get Out of My Life Woman' - the first two dropping this month will look at songs who sampled the Lee Dorsey version and two posts next month will explore the songs that sampled covers of Lee Dorsey's original. Beat scientists will know there are a lot of excellent covers to talk about. Let's get into it!

'Get Out of My Life Woman' may be most famously sampled in 1989 by Biz Markie for his gigantic crossover hit and enduring single 'Just a Friend' from his album 'The Biz Never Sleeps'. Produced by the Biz and Cool V, 'Just a Friend' is a multi-generational party standard. A year later, DJ Slip and the Unknown DJ sampled the 'Get Out of My Life Woman' break for Compton's Most Wanted's 'This is Compton' from 'It's a Compton Thang!' which predates Dr. Dre's Compton-centric 'The Chronic' by one year. In 1991, Prince Paul and De La Soul sampled the drums on 'Fanatic of the B Word' from their sophomore album 'De La Soul is Dead'. In 1992, Common's debut album 'Can I Borrow a Dollar?' contained the Immenslope produced single 'Breaker 1/9' while the title track to Lord Finesse's 'Return of the Funky Man' had Showbiz (of Show and AG fame), both sampling Lee Dorsey. In 1993, both 'Hits from the Bong' by Cypress Hill, produced by DJ Muggs, and the short interlude 'Zearocks' from the Leaders of the New School's 'T.I.M.E.' album also used samples of 'Get Out of My Life Woman'.

Check back for the second part of our look at songs sampling one of Lee Dorsey's finest moments.

The Lowdown:
Lee Dorsey 'Get Out of My Life Woman'
from 'The New Lee Dorsey' (1966) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Biz Markie 'Just a Friend'
from 'The Biz Never Sleeps' (1989) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
Compton's Most Wanted 'This is Compton'
from 'It's a Compton Thang!' (1990) (MP3/CD not available)
De La Soul 'Fanatic of the B Word'
from 'De La Soul is Dead' (1991) (MP3 not available/CD)
Common 'Breaker 1/9'
from 'Can I Borrow a Dollar?' (1992) (MP3/CD)
Lord Finesse 'Return of the Funky Man'
from 'Return of the Funky Man' (1992) (MP3/CD not available)
Cypress Hill 'Hits from the Bong'
from 'Black Sunday' (1993) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edits: 'Hits from the Bong'
Leaders of the New School 'Zearocks'
from 'T.I.M.E.' (1993) (MP3/CD)

Related Posts:
Five On It: July 2009's Essentials ('Get Out My Life Woman' on Five On It)
Rewind: Cypress Hill 'Black Sunday' (Part 1)
Rewind: Cypress Hill 'Black Sunday' (Part 2)

Rewind: Kanye West 'Late Registration' (Part 2)

Welcome to the second part of our look at Kanye West's second album 'Late Registration'.

To me, one of the best sample flipped on 'Late Registration' is that of Gil Scott-Heron's forever chilling junkie dirge 'Home is Where the Hatred Is' used for Kanye and Common's 'My Way Home'. West's track leaves much of the sample intact, but the original track is still necessary for complete music collections. Nas makes an appearance on Kanye West's 'We Major' produced by West, Jon Brion, and Warryn Campbell. The song uses samples from Stevie Wonder's 'Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)' from his 1972 album 'Music of My Mind'. Kanye, Cam'ron, and Consequence rhyme over portions of Otis Redding's 'It's Too Late' on the late album track 'Gone'. Finally, the lead single 'Diamonds from Sierra Leone' produced by Kanye, Brion, and Devo Springfield flips Shirley Bassey's theme to 'Diamonds are Forever' from the James Bond film soundtrack of the same name.

'Late Registration' was more successful than its predecessor, 'College Dropout', but both were later eclipsed (in terms of sales) by Kanye West's third album 'Graduation' (which was previously reviewed on this blog).

The Lowdown:
Kanye West 'My Way Home', 'We Major', 'Gone', and 'Diamonds from Sierra Leone'
from 'Late Registration' (2005) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edits: 'My Way Home', 'We Major', 'Gone', and 'Diamonds from Sierra Leone'
Gil Scott-Heron 'Home is Where the Hatred Is'
from 'Pieces of a Man' (1970) (MP3/CD)
Stevie Wonder 'Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)'
from 'Music of My Mind' (1972) (MP3/CD)
Otis Redding 'It's Too Late'
from 'The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads' (1965) (MP3/CD)
Shirley Bassey 'Diamonds are Forever'
from 'Diamonds are Forever OST' (1972) (MP3/CD)

Related Posts:
Kanye West 'Graduation' (Part 1)
Kanye West 'Graduation' (Part 2)

Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 7, 2006)

Although J Dilla's career was cut tragically short on February 10th of 2006, his legacy as one of hip-hop's most forward thinking producers was already concrete. For the non-believer, there were two more examples of J Dilla's skill released in 2006: his broken-beat magnum opus 'Donuts' and his final (to date) solo album 'The Shining'.

'Donuts' was released on February 7th of 2006, Dilla's final birthday. The album is comprised of 31 short instrumentals that blend into a stunning album. One of the standout tracks on 'Donuts' is the propulsive 'Lightworks' which utilizes samples from electronic music pioneer Raymond Scott's 'Bendix 1: The Tomorrow People' and, of course, 'Lightworks'. Dilla's original instrumental was used in its entirety for DOOM's 'Lightworks' from 2009's 'Born Like This' (check back for a full look at 'Born Like This' later this week). Similarly, Ghostface Killah used Dilla's 'Hi.' as the backing for his song 'Beauty Jackson' from 2006's 'Fishscale'. The basis for both tracks is the Three Degrees' 'Maybe' from their 1970 album 'Maybe'.

'Donuts' was followed by 'The Shining' four months later in August of 2006. The album was not finished by Dilla, after his death the album was completed by Karriem Riggins. One of the standout tracks from 'The Shining' is 'So Far to Go' with Common. The track samples the Isley Brothers' 'Don't Say Goodnight (It's Time for Love)' and was featured as 'Bye.' on Dilla's 'Donuts' album. The track would appear in a slightly different version as Common's 'So Far to Go' on his 2007 album 'Finding Forever'.

Dilla lives on through his music and is frequently cited by producers and given tributes by his friends and peers. Future posts on this blog will cover his material in greater depth.

The Lowdown:
J Dilla 'Lightworks', 'Hi.', and 'Bye.'
from 'Donuts' (2006) (MP3 not available/CD)
Raymond Scott 'Bendix 1: The Tomorrow People' and 'Lightworks'
from 'Manhattan Research, Inc.' (2000) (MP3/CD)
DOOM 'Lightworks'
from 'Born Like This' (2009) (MP3/CD)
Ghostface Killah 'Beauty Jackson'
from 'Fishscale' (2006) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit: 'Beauty Jackson'
The Three Degrees 'Maybe'
from 'Maybe' (1970) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
J Dilla 'So Far to Go'
from 'The Shining' (2006) (MP3/CD)
The Isley Brothers 'Don't Say Goodnight (It's Time for Love)'
from 'Go All the Way' (1980) (MP3 not available/CD)
Common 'So Far to Go'
from 'Finding Forever' (2007) (MP3/CD)

Related Posts:
Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 1, 1995)
Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 2, 1996-1997)
Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 3, 1998-1999)
Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 4, 2000)
Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 5, 2001-2003)
Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 6, 2004-2005)

Producer Profile: J Dilla (part 6, 2004-2005)

With J Dilla's reputation for heavy beats growing and a series of releases on his own, Dilla was able to place beats on some high profile projects. This post will cover snippets of his 2004-2005 output that include three of his highest profile productions.

In 2004, Blue Note Records enlisted producers to remix tracks from their back catalog. Dilla remixed Brother Jack McDuff's 1969 track 'Oblighetto' for 'Blue Note Revisited'. Jack McDuff's original track appeared on his sought after album 'Moon Rappin''. Also in 2004, Dilla landed a beat on De La Soul's first album in 3 years: 'The Grind Date'. The album contains two beats by J Dilla (three on the international version), 'Much More' (which was famously featured on 'Chapelle's Show') samples parts of Shuggie Otis' 'Strawberry Letter 23' (which would become a hit for the Brothers Johnson, but would never be bested) and L.T.D.'s 'Love Ballad' from 1975's 'Love to the World'. In 2005, Dilla contributed two more beats to Common's latest album 'Be', which was produced entirely by Kanye West with the exception of Dilla's tracks. 'Love Is...' utilizes Marvin Gaye's 'What's Going On' B-Side cut 'God is Love' to great effect.

During this same time period, reports of J Dilla's illness started to recieve press. By the end of 2005, Dilla was confined to a wheel chair as a symptom of TTP. On February 10, 2006 died - only three days after the release of his opus 'Donuts'. Our next look at Dilla will cover his final and posthumously released production work.

The Lowdown:
Brother Jack McDuff 'Oblighetto' (Dilla Mix)
from 'Blue Note Revisited' (2004) (MP3 not available/CD)
Brother Jack McDuff 'Oblighetto'
from 'Moon Rappin''(1969) (MP3/CD not available)
De La Soul 'Much More'
from 'The Grind Date' (2004) (MP3/CD)
Shuggie Otis 'Strawberry Letter 23'
from 'Freedom Flight' (1971) (MP3/CD)
L.T.D. 'Love Ballad'
from 'Love to the World' (1975) (MP3/CD)
Common 'God Is...'
from 'Be' (2005) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit: 'God Is...'
Marvin Gaye 'God is Love'
from 'What's Going On' (1971) (MP3/CD)

Related Posts:
Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 1, 1995)
Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 2, 1996-1997)
Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 3, 1998-1999)
Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 4, 2000)
Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 5, 2001-2003)

Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 5, 2001-2003)

Welcome to our fifth look at the production career of the legendary, late J Dilla. It has only been three years since his untimely death, but his influence is felt more than perhaps any other time in history. Before I start with the post, I wanted to link up Stones Throw's Rase It Up for Ma Dukes! crossover campaign with Parra with proceeds going to Dilla's mother Maureen Yancey.

2001 saw the release of Dilla's first solo album, 'Welcome to Detroit' as Jay Dee on the excellent UK label BBE. The album's single 'Pause' with vocals by Frank-N-Dank uses a sample from Donald Byrd's 1974 album 'Stepping into Tomorrow' (produced by Larry Mizell) with the track 'Think Twice'. In 2002, Dilla and the other members of the Soulquarians appeared on the ambitious, yet ultimately critically ignored, album 'Electric Cricus' by Common. Two noteworthy non-singles from the album are the Dilla, James Poyser, and ?usetlove produced cuts 'New Wave' and 'Star 69 (PS with Love). 'New Wave' features guest vocals from Stereolab singer Laetitia Sadier (Stereolab was mentioned in Part 4 of our look at Dilla's production output) while 'Star 69' features vocals from fellow Soulquarian Bilal and Prince (yes, that Prince).

In 2003, Dilla's 'Ruff Draft' EP was released by the German label Groove Attack (the EP was later expanded and reissued by Stones Throw). One of the album's standout tracks is 'Wild', which samples 'Cum On Feel the Noize' by classic rock act Slade. Also in 2003, J Dilla and Madlib's project Jaylib saw the light of day with the supergroup's lone album 'Champion Sound'. 'Champion Sound''s single 'The Red' touts beats by Dilla and lyrics by Madlib and utilizes a sample of 'Shine On Straight Arrow' from Cris Williamson's self titled album from 1970.

Check back to this blog for our sixth look at Dilla's career, covering the years 2004 and 2005.

The Lowdown:
Jay Dee 'Pause'
from 'Welcome to Detroit' (2001) (MP3/CD)
Donald Byrd 'Think Twice'
from 'Stepping Into Tomorrow' (1974) (MP3/CD)
Common 'New Wave' and 'Star 69 (PS With Love)'
from 'Electric Circus' (2002) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit:'New Wave' and 'Star 69 (PS With Love)'
J Dilla 'Wild'
from 'Ruff Draft' (2003) (MP3/CD)
Slade 'Cum on Feel the Noize'
from 'Sladest' (1972) (MP3/CD not available)
Jaylib 'The Red'
from 'Champion Sound' (2003) (MP3/CD)
Cris Williamson 'Shine On Straight Arrow'
from 'Cris Williamson' (1970) (MP3/CD)

Bonus Cuts:
Reissue instrumental fever: 'Wild' (Instrumental) and 'The Red' (Instrumental)

Releated Posts:
Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 4, 2000)

Producer Profile: David Axelrod (Part 3, 1970-1972)

After two of his most sought after albums, 'Song of Innocence' and 'Songs of Experience', David Axelrod released his final solo album for Capitol records in 1970: 'Earth Rot'. Like much of his output, this album is highly sought after by beat diggers and has been sampled by hip-hop's finest. This post will cover 'Earth Rot', as well as some of his production credits for Cannonball Adderley.

'Earth Rot' is divided into two concept album sides and is not as widely known for its beats. In 1994, No I.D. sampled Axelrod's 'The Signs (Part 2)' on the title track single to Common's sophomore album 'Resurrection'. The same track would be sampled by Madlib among many others (including other Axelrod tracks) on 'Return of the Loop Digga' as Quasimoto, whose album 'The Unseen' is reviewed in depth here, here, and here. In 1999, Diamond D and Mos Def would use another sample from 'Earth Rot', 'The Warnings (Part 2)' for the track 'Hip Hop' from Mos Def's breakthrough album 'Black on Both Sides' (which will be reviewed in depth soon in a future post on this blog).

In addition to producing his own material, Axelrod continued his role as producer on much of Cannonball Adderley's 70s output. Among the many Adderley albums that have been sampled is 1970's 'The Price You Pay to Be Free' whose song 'Exquisition' was sampled for the Pharcyde's 'Pack the Pipe' produced by J-Swift. 'Soul Virgo' from the same album is one of the samples used by A Tribe Called Quest on 'Bonita Applebum' from their debut 'Peoples' Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm'. Six years later, Tribe would sample another Cannonball Adderley track. An untitled track from Adderley's 'Black Messiah' album was sampled by Jay Dee (J Dilla) and the Ummah for Tribe's '1nce Again' from 'Beats, Rhymes, and Life'.

Check back for our next look at David Axelrod's production career.

The Lowdown:
David Axelrod 'The Signs (Part 2)' and 'The Warnings (Part 2)'
from 'Earth Rot' (1970) (MP3/CD)
Common 'Resurrection'
from 'Resurrection' (1994) (MP3/CD)
Quasimoto 'Return of the Loop Digga'
from 'The Unseen' (2000) (MP3/CD)
Mos Def 'Hip Hop'
from 'Black on Both Sides' (1999) (MP3/CD)
Cannonball Adderley 'Exquisition' and 'Soul Virgo'
from 'The Price You Pay to Be Free' (1970) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
The Pharcyde 'Pack the Pipe'
from 'Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde' (1991) (MP3/CD)
A Tribe Called Quest 'Bonita Applebum'
from 'Peoples' Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm' (1990) (MP3/CD)
Cannonball Adderley 'Untitled'
from 'Black Messiah' (1972) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
A Tribe Called Quest '1nce Again'
from 'Beats, Rhymes, and Life' (1996) (MP3/CD)

Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 4, 2000)

Welcome to part 4 of this blog's look at J Dilla's production career.

2000 saw a string of high profile beats appearing on albums by mainstream artists with, as always, difficult and unusual sample sources. His beat for Busta Rhymes' 'Show Me What You Got' from the album 'Anarchy' featured a sample from the indie band Stereolab's 'Come and Play in the Milky Night' released just a year earlier (check back for the next post in our look at J Dilla for another link between Dilla and Stereolab). Dilla also landed a beat on De La Soul's arguably misguided album 'Art Official Intelligence'. The Dilla produced 'Thru Ya City' samples the Lovin' Spoonful's classic rock hit 'Summer in the City'.

J Dilla also worked extensively with the Soulquarians in 2000. The year saw the release of the Soulquarians produced album 'Like Water for Chocolate' by Common and the hit single 'The Light' that samples Bobby Caldwell's 'Open Your Eyes'. An even bigger hit for the Soulquarians and for Dilla was Erykah Badu's giant hit 'Didn't Cha Know' from her album 'Mama's Gun'. The song samples the relatively unknown act Tarika Blue and the song 'Dreamflower' from their self-titled 1977 album.

Check back for part 5 of our look at Dilla's career including production work for his own emerging career.

The Lowdown:
Busta Rhymes 'Show Me What You Got'
from 'Anarchy' (2000) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit:'Show Me What You Got'
Stereolab 'Come and Play in the Milky Night'
from 'Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night' (1999) (MP3/CD)
De La Soul 'Thru Ya City'
from 'Art Official Intelligence' (2000) (MP3 not available/CD)
The Lovin' Spoonful 'Summer in the City'
from 'Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful' (1966) (MP3/CD)
Common 'The Light'
from 'Like Water for Chocolate' (2000) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit: 'The Light'
Bobby Caldwell 'Open Your Eyes'
from 'Cat in the Hat' (1982) (MP3/CD not available)
Erykah Badu 'Didn't Cha Know'
from 'Mama's Gun' (2000) (MP3/CD)
Tarika Blue 'Dreamflower'
from 'Tarika Blue' (1977) (MP3 not available/CD not available)