Rewind: Ice Cube 'AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted' (Part 3)

Welcome to our third and final look at Ice Cube's 'AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted' and its sample sources.

Da Lench Mob make an early appearance on Ice Cube's aptly titled 'Rollin' wit' the Lench Mob' produced by the Bomb Squad, Sir Jinx, and Cube. The team dips into Parliament's 'Motor-Booty Affair' again for the single 'Aquaboogie (Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop)'. Ice Cube rhymes over a barrage of heavily sampled breaks on the single 'Who's the Mack?' including Sly and the Family Stone's 'Sing a Simple Song', Marvin Gaye's 'T Stands for Trouble', The Honey Drippers' classic 'Impeach the President', and 'I Wanna Get Down' by Fred and The New J.B.'s. Sir Jinx and Ice Cube share production credits for Cube's duet with Yo-Yo: 'It's a Man's World'. The song samples and interpolates James Brown's breakthrough single 'It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World' and also samples Roy Ayers' 'Brother Green (The Disco King)' from his 1974 album 'Mystic Voyage'. Finally, the track 'The Bomb' seems like Sir Jinx and the Bomb Squad laying the groundwork for West Coast rap to come by sampling the Soul Searchers' 1974 cut 'Funk to the Folks' and Zapp's forever low rider banging 'More Bounce to the Ounce' from their 1979 self titled album.

'AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted' was only the start for Ice Cube, who released a series of popular and controversial albums throughout the mid-90s leading to burgeoning movie career and several attempts at a credible comeback including his 2008 album 'Raw Footage'.

The Lowdown:
Ice Cube 'Rollin' wit' the Lench Mob', 'Who's the Mack?', 'It's a Man's World', and 'The Bomb'
from 'AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted' (1990) (MP3/CD)
Parliament 'Aquaboogie (Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop)'
from 'Motor-Booty Affair' (1977) (MP3/CD)
Sly and the Family Stone 'Sing a Simple Song'
from 'Stand!' (1969) (MP3/CD)
Marvin Gaye 'T Stands for Trouble'
from 'Trouble Man' (1972) (MP3/CD)
The Honey Drippers 'Impeach the President'
from 'Impeach the President' 7" (1973) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Fred and The New J.B.'s 'I Wanna Get Down'
from 'Breakin' Bread' (1974) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
James Brown 'It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World'
from 'It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World' (1966) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Roy Ayers 'Brother Green (The Disco King)'
from 'Mystic Voyage' (1974) (MP3/CD)
Soul Searchers 'Funk to the Folks'
from 'Salt of the Earth' (1974) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
Zapp 'More Bounce to the Ounce'
from 'Zapp' (1979) (MP3/CD)

Related Posts:
Source Material: Marvin Gaye 'Trouble Man'

Rewind: The Pharcyde 'Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde' (Part 1)

In 1992, after only one preceding single, the Pharcyde dropped their highly acclaimed and platinum selling debut album 'Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde'. This three part arc will review the sample sources used on this landmark album, produced virtually entirely by J-Swift.

The vocal version of '4 Better or 4 Worse' samples a trifecta of excellent breaks: Lou Donaldson's 'Pot Belly' from his 1970 album 'Pretty Things', the Emotion's 'Blind Alley' (a previous break of the month from October 2008's Five on It) and Fred Wesley and the J.B.'s awesome 'Rockin' Funky Watergate' from 1974's 'Breakin' Bread'. The Pharcyde's 'I'm That Type of N----' uses a grip of James Brown classics: 'Maybe the Last Time' (b-side to James' 'Out of Sight' single) and the timeless 'Papa's Got a Brand New Bag' plus the J.B.'s 'Pass the Peas' and 'Givin' Up Food for Funk'. The track also samples Sly and the Family Stone's 'Sing a Simple Song' from their breakthrough album 'Stand!'. The Pharcyde's 'Soul Flower' (remix) (a version of their track with labelmates the Brand New Heavies) cuts a sample from the Fatback Band's hit 'Put Your Love (In My Tender Care)'.

Check back for parts 2 and 3 of our look at 'Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde'.

The Lowdown:
The Pharcyde '4 Better of 4 Worse', 'I'm That Type of N----', and 'Soul Flower' (remix)
from 'Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde' (1992) (MP3/CD)
Lou Donaldson 'Pot Belly'
from 'Pretty Things' (1970) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
The Emotions 'Blind Alley'
from 'Untouched' (1971) (MP3/CD)
Fred Wesley and the J.B.'s 'Rockin' Funky Watergate'
from 'Breakin' Bread' (1974) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
James Brown 'Maybe the Last Time'
from 'Out of Sight' 7" (1964) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
James Brown 'Papa's Got a Brand New Bag'
from 'Papa's Got a Brand New Bag' (1965) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
The J.B.'s 'Pass the Peas'
from 'Food For Thought' (1972) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
The J.B.'s 'Givin' Up Food for Funk'
from 'Givin' Up Food for Funk' (1972) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Sly and the Family Stone 'Sing a Simple Song'
from 'Stand!' (1969) (MP3/CD)
The Fatback Band 'Put Your Love (in My Tender Care)'
from 'Raising Hell' (1974) (MP3/CD)

Rewind: Notorious B.I.G. 'Ready to Die' (Part 1)

One of hip-hop's indisputable classics is the debut album 'Ready to Die' by the Notorious B.I.G., released on September 13th in 1994. After being signed by Sean Combs, the Notorious B.I.G. appeared in cameo spots on several Uptown Records singles including ones by Heavy D and the Boyz and Mary J. Blige. Just months before the release of 'Ready to Die', B.I.G. appeared on the 'Flava in Ya Ear' remix by Craig Mack, an essential East Coast party starter. In this three part post, this blog will cover the hits and sample sources of 'Ready to Die'.

'Things Done Changed', the first track following the album intro, features two samples from the Main Ingredient's 1974 album 'Euphrates River': 'Summer Breeze' and 'California My Way' (the Main Ingredient notably features vocals from Cuba Gooding Sr.). The Easy Mo Bee produced 'Gimme the Loot' utilizes samples from James Brown's 'Hell'-era funk monster 'Coldblooded. The excellent 'Machine Gun Funk' samples Black Heat's 'Something Extra' as well as 'Up for the Down Stroke' by Fred Wesley and the Horny Horns. In an example of classics begetting classics, 'Warning' is laced with the gigantic breaks of Isaac Hayes' psych-soul cover of 'Walk on By'. 'Walk on By' will be covered in depth in a future post on this blog.

Check back for part 2 of our look at 'Ready to Die'.

The Lowdown:
The Notorious B.I.G. 'Things Done Changed', 'Gimme the Loot', 'Machine Gun Funk', and 'Warning'
from 'Ready to Die' (1994) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edits: 'Things Done Changed', 'Gimme the Loot', 'Machine Gun Funk', and 'Warning'
The Main Ingredient 'California My Way' and 'Summer Breeze'
from 'Euphrated River' (1974) (MP3 not available/ Import CD)
James Brown 'Coldblooded'
from 'Hell' (1974) (MP3/CD)
Black Heat 'Something Extra'
from 'Keep on Runnin'' (1975) (MP3/CD not available)
Fred Wesley and the Horny Horns 'Up for the Down Stroke'
from 'A Blow for Me, a Toot for You' (1977) (MP3/Import CD)
Isaac Hayes 'Walk on By' (Radio Edit)
from 'Hot Buttered Soul' (1968) (MP3/CD)