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

Two months ago, we covered Lee Dorsey's break form his cover of Allen Toussaint's legendary 'Get Out My Life Woman' and the producers and artists who sampled it here and here. This month - a different take on the same song: we'll be looking at the producers and artists who sampled other covers of the song in a two part post arc.

Joe Williams has one of the earliest covers of the song with the slightly renamed 'Get Out of My Life' from his 1966 album 'Presenting Joe Williams with Thad Jones and the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra'. This song was sampled by Haas G and RNS for an album cut in the UMC's Wild Pitch album 'Fruits of Nature' on a track called 'Woman Be Out'. A year later, the Trackmasters used the same break on the much more notable single 'Ill Street Blues' by Kool G Rap and DJ Polo. In 1993, T-Ray sampled the break for Funkdoobiest's song 'I'm S---ting on 'Em' on the album 'Which Doobie U B?'. Another year later, Large Professor used the cut for Main Source and Large Professor's track on the 'Wild Pitch Classics' compilation titled 'How My Man Went Down in the Game'. In 2000, Jill Scott used the song on her track 'Brotha' produced by Keith Pelzer.

In 1966, the Mad Lads delivered 'Get Out of My Life' on their 'In Action' album. Nearly 3 decades later in 1995, DJ Ralph M would sample the song for Funkdoobiest's 'Superhoes' on the album 'Brothas Doobie'. One of the odder versions of 'Get Out of My Life Woman' comes courtesy of Bill Cosby. On his 1968 album 'Hooray for the Salvation Army Band', Cosby covers 'Get Out of My Life Woman'. Of course this one was sampled too! Chubb Rock and Howie Tee used it in 1991 for the cut 'The Big Man' while in the same year, DJ Muggs used the sample for Cypress Hill's 'Stoned is the Way of the Walk' from their self-titled debut album. In 1992, DJ Premier sampled Cosby for Gang Starr's 'The Illest Brother' from their essential album 'Daily Operation'. Finally, in 1994, the Digable Planets sampled the song on 'Jettin'' from their second and final album 'Blowout Comb'.

Check back for more 'Get Out of My Life Woman' covers and more hip-hop cuts based on them.

The Lowdown:
Joe Williams 'Get Out of My Life'
from 'Presenting Joe Williams with Thad Jones and the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra' (1966) (MP3/CD not available)
The UMC's 'Woman Be Out'
from 'Fruits of Nature' (1991) (MP3/CD not available)
Kool G Rap and DJ Polo 'Ill Street Blues'
from 'Live and Let Die' (1992) (MP3/CD)
Funkdoobiest 'I'm S---tin' On 'Em'
from 'Which Doobie U B?' (1993) (MP3/CD not available)
Main Source and Large Professor 'How My Man Went Down in the Game'
from 'Wild Pitch Classics' (1994) (MP3/CD)
Jill Scott 'Brotha'
from 'Who is Jill Scott?' (2000) (MP3/CD)
Mad Lads 'Get Out of My Life'
from 'In Action' (1966) (MP3/CD)
Funkdoobiest 'Superhoes'
from 'Brothas Doobie' (1995) (MP3/CD not available)
Bill Cosby 'Get Out of My Life Woman'
from 'Hooray for the Salvation Army Band' (1968) (MP3/CD not available)
Chubb Rock 'The Big One'
from 'The One' (1991) (MP3/CD)
Cypress Hill 'Stoned is the Way of the Walk'
from 'Cypress Hill' (1991) (MP3/CD)
Gang Starr 'The Illest Brother'
from 'Daily Operation' (1992) (MP3/CD)
Digable Planets 'Jettin''
from 'Blowout Comb' (1994) (MP3/CD)

Bonus Cut:
Kool G Rap and DJ Polo 'Ill Street Blues' (Acapella)

The Breaks: Myra Barnes 'Message from the Soul Sisters'

For our last post during James Brown Week, I thought we'd take a look at one of the many hits produced by James Brown for other artists. Today's post will cover Myra Barnes' hit single 'Message from the Soul Sisters' from 1970. Myra Barnes, who also performed under the name Vicki Anderson, joined the James Brown Revue in 1965 and would later be replaced by another legendary James Brown produced female singer: Marva Whitney. 'Message from the Soul Sisters' is among one of her best known tracks and is a go-to sample source for some of hip hop's finest producers.

DJ Premier and Guru sampled Barnes for the title track to their 1989 debut album 'No More Mr. Nice Guy'. A year later, Dr. Dre and Lay Law sampled the song for Above the Law's 'Freedom of Speech' and the Geto Boys sampled the song for their track 'City Under Seige'. Perhaps the track most known for sampling 'Message from the Soul Sisters' is the album cut 'Vamos a Rapair' produced by Large Professor and Pete Rock for Main Source's modern day classic debut album 'Breaking Atoms'. Rashad Smith used the sample again in 1995 for LL Cool J's track 'God Bless' from the album 'Mr. Smith.

In addition to being a part of the James Brown Revue, Myra Barnes was quite literally family: she married Bobby Byrd, a long time Brown collaborator. Music was also apparently apart of Byrd and Barnes' DNA as their daughter Jhelisa scored a few 90s hits in the UK.

The Lowdown:
Myra Barnes 'Message from the Soul Sisters'
from 'Message from the Soul Sisters' 7" (1970) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Gang Starr 'No More Mr. Nice Guy'
from 'No More Mr. Nice Guy' (1989) (MP3/CD)
Above the Law 'Freedom of Speech'
from 'Livin' Like Hustlers' (1990) (MP3/CD)
Geto Boys 'City Under Siege'
from 'The Geto Boys' (1990) (MP3/CD)
Main Source 'Vamos a Rapair'
from 'Breaking Atoms' (1991) (MP3/CD)
LL Cool J 'God Bless'
from 'Mr. Smith' (1995) (MP3/CD)

Related Posts:
Rewind: Above the Law 'Livin' Like Hustlers' (Part 1)
Rewind: Above the Law 'Livin' Like Hustlers' (Part 2)
Rewind: Main Source 'Breaking Atoms' (Part 1)
Rewind: Main Source 'Breaking Atoms' (Part 2)

Producer Profile: Large Professor (part 1, 1990-1992)

In 1990, under the tutelage of producer Paul C, Harlem-born Large Professor programmed beats behind the scenes for Eric B. and Rakim's album 'Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em' at the age of 17. In the following years, Large Professor would lend production to two of hip-hop's most influential albums of all time: 'Breaking Atoms' and 'Illmatic'.

Large Professor produced two tracks for Cold Chillin' rap unit Kool G Rap and DJ Polo's album 'Wanted: Dead or Alive'. The album's opening track, 'Streets of New York' contains a sample of the Fatback Band's 'Gotta Learn How to Dance'. Large Pro's stock hit the stratosphere in 1991 when 'Breaking Atoms' by Main Source was released (the album was covered extensively in two past posts in this blog here and here). One of 'Breaking Atoms''s biggest tracks is 'Live at the Barbeque'; built on a crushing sample of Bob James' 'Nautilus', it also introduces the world to Nas. Though 'Illmatic' was not released until 1994, Nas' first single 'Halftime' (originally released under the name Nasty Nas) was released in 1992. 'Halftime' contains drum samples from Average White Band's 'School Boy Crush. I'm personally not the biggest fan of AWB, but 'School Boy Crush' is an absolutely essential open drum track.

Check back to this blog for part 2 of the Large Professor Producer Profile for coverage of Nas and ATCQ.

The Lowdown:
Kool G Rap and DJ Polo 'Streets of New York'
from 'Wanted: Dead or Alive' (1990) (MP3/CD not available)
The Fatback Band 'Gotta Learn How to Dance'
from 'Yum Yum' (1975) (MP3 not available/CD)
Main Source 'Live at the Barbeque'
from 'Breaking Atoms' (1991) (MP3/CD)
Bob James 'Nautilus'
from 'One' (1974) (MP3/CD)
Nas 'Halftime'
from 'Illmatic' (1994) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit: 'Halftime'
Average White Band 'School Boy Crush'
from 'Cut the Cake' (1975) (MP3/CD)

Rewind: Main Source 'Breaking Atoms' (Part 2)

Main Source's 'Peace is Not the Word to Play' was the fourth single released from the album 'Breaking Atoms', and though it failed to chart, it is still a strong cut (which goes without saying for this album). 'Peace' picks a sample from Miles Davis' 'Right Off' from another classic album, 1970's 'A Tribute to Jack Johnson'. Additional sample sources include MFSB's 'T.L.C. Tender Loving Care' and beats from 'Britches' by the immortal Meters from their heavily sampled album 'Struttin''. 'Vamos a Rapiar', co produced by Pete Rock, plucks a sample from the James Brown produced Myra Barnes cut 'Message from the Soul Sisters'.

One of the most famous posse cuts in hip-hop history is the Large Professor produced 'Live at the Barbeque', which introduces the world to Nasty Nas (later, of course, Nas) and Akinyele (whose career didn't amount to much more than songs about putting things in peoples' mouths... their motherf---ing mouths). The driving beat of 'Live at the Barbeque' is from Bob James' 'Nautilus', the only reason you need to pick up that copy of 'One' from a garage sale.

Unfortunately, 'Breaking Atoms' would be the only album released with it's classic line-up (their second album, 'F--- What You Think', was delayed and finally released in 1994 after the group's second line up had broken up and just before the Wild Pitch label went under). Large Professor would go on to contribute to Nas' debut album 'Illmatic' and would run into his own label problems when his second solo album, 'The LP', was shelved in 1996 (to this day, the album has never officially been released).

The Lowdown:
Main Source 'Peace is Not the Word to Play', 'Vamos a Rapiar', and 'Live at the Barbeque'
from 'Breaking Atoms' (1990) (MP3/CD)
Miles Davis 'Right Off'
from 'A Tribute to Jack Johnson' (1970) (MP3/CD)
MFSB 'T.L.C. Tender Loving Care'
from 'Universal Love' (1975) (MP3 unavailable/CD unavailable)
The Meters 'Britches'
from 'Struttin'' (1970) (MP3/CD)
Myra Barnes 'A Message from the Soul Sisters'
Bob James 'Nautilus'
from 'One' (1974) (MP3/CD)

Rewind: Main Source 'Breaking Atoms' (Part 1)

'Breaking Atoms' has all of the ingredients of a modern day myth. It is the debut album of the short-lived rap unit Main Source, highly acclaimed upon release and leading to no less than five singles that went out of print as its stock started to rise. Add Nas (here as Nasty Nas) and early beats by super producer Large Professor to the mix and the interest in one of East Coast hip-hop's mostly widely recognized classics is risen.

One of 'Breaking Atoms'' indisputable classic cuts is the single 'Just Hangin' Out' that cribs samples from Gwen McCrae's '90% of Me Is You', Ike and Tina Turner's 'Bold Soul Sister', and most famously 'Bam Bam' by Sister Nancy (which was covered extensively in a past post on this blog). 'Looking at the Front Door' is the album's first and highest charting single, reaching #1 on the Billboard rap charts. 'Front Door' features, among other samples, bits of 'Think Twice' from Donald Byrd's 1975 album 'Stepping into Tomorrow' produced by Larry Mizell. Main Source's album cut 'Scratch and Kut' has the notable drum break from Kool and the Gang's live version of 'N.T.' from their album 'Live at P.J.'s' (the 'N.T.' drum break is a cornerstone of Large Pro's sound).

Check back for part 2 of 'Breaking Atoms', which will include the track that broke Nas to the rap world.

The Lowdown:
Main Source 'Just Hangin' Out', 'Looking at the Front Door', and 'Scratch and Kut'
from 'Breaking Atoms' (1990) (MP3/CD)
Gwen McCrae '90% of Me Is You'
from 'Rockin' Chair' (1975) (MP3 not available/CD)
Ike and Tina Turner 'Bold Soul Sister'
from 'Hunter' (1969) (MP3 not available/CD)
Sister Nancy 'Bam Bam'
from 'One, Two' (1982) (MP3/CD not available)
Donald Byrd 'Think Twice'
from 'Stepping into Tomorrow' (1975) (MP3/CD)
Kool and the Gang 'N.T.'
from 'Live at P.J.'s' (1972) (MP3/CD not available)

Source Material: Sister Nancy 'Bam Bam'

The Stalag Riddim (covered in the last post) is the basis for one of dancehall's biggest singles: 'Bam Bam' by sister Nancy. Not only was 'Bam Bam' a huge hit for Sister Nancy and for the dancehall genre, but it had (and still has) huge crossover appeal. Nearly a decade after the single first appeared, 'Bam Bam' became a prime source for hip-hop sampling.

In 1990, Large Professor sampled 'Bam Bam' for Main Source's single 'Just Hangin' Out' from the now classic and rare album 'Breaking Atoms' (word is 'Breaking Atoms', along with all of Wild Pitch's vaults, will be rereleased in 2008). 'Just Hangin' Out' is my personal favorite from 'Breaking Atoms', which has several essential hip-hop cuts. The Stalag Riddim provides a mellow groove to 'Hangin' Out' while the turntable cuts of 'Bam Bam' in the center of the track provide a great nod to Sister Nancy. 'Bam Bam' was used again in 1992 by Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth on 'The Basement' from the fantastically produced 'Mecca and the Soul Brother'. Pete Rock and C.L. have, not surprisingly, been a staple of this blog and a producer profile for Pete Rock is slated for a future post.

Dancehall made a strong comeback in the late 90s and early 00s, leading to more hip-hop tracks incorporating Stalag samples. 2004's single for Biggie-soundalike Guerilla Black, 'Compton', was a bit of a flash in the pan, but still had apt production from Carlos Broady.

The Lowdown:
Sister Nancy 'Bam Bam'
from 'One, Two' (1982) (MP3/CD not available)
Main Source 'Just Hangin' Out'
from 'Breaking Atoms' (1990) (MP3/CD not available)
Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth 'The Basement'
from 'Mecca and the Soul Brother' (1992) (MP3/CD)
Guerilla Black 'Compton'
from 'Guerilla City' (2004) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit: 'Compton'