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Welcome to our last look at Cypress Hill's 1991 debut album 'Cypress Hill' produced by DJ Muggs.'Psycobetabuckdown' is a mouthful of a title, but it samples a track that has an even longer title: Parliament's 'Aquaboogie (A Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop)' from 1977's 'Motor-Booty Affair'. The track also samples 'Foxy Lady' from Willie Hutch's excellent blaxploitation soundtrack to 'Foxy Brown'. 'Something for the Blunted' finds Cypress on samples of Curtis Mayfield's 'Future Shock' and the essential b-boy cut 'Smokin' Cheeba Cheeba' from the Harlem Underground Band's lone 1976 album 'Harlem Underground'. The single 'Latin Lingo' finds Muggs using another Sly and the Family Stone sample, 'Sing a Simple Song' from 'Stand!', in addition to samples from 'Mongoose' from the rock band Elephant's Memory, 'Funky Music Sho Nuff Turns Me On' from Motown artist Edwin Starr, and 'A Gritty Nitty' by Pazant Brothers and the Beaufort Express. For 'The Funky Cypress Hill Shit', Muggs samples the Village Callers' 'Hector' from their 1968 'Live' album, the post-Curtis Mayfield Five Stairsteps track 'The New Dance Craze', and Mandrill's excellent 'Fencewalk'. Finally, 'Born to Get Busy' finds the crew rhyming on Booker T. and the M.G.'s early Stax single 'Bootleg' from their 1966 album 'And Now!'.Although not big upon its release, Cypress Hill's debut album gained sales momentum as their following albums, 'Black Sunday' and 'Temples of Boom' became hits. To date, 'Cypress Hill' has sold 2 million copies in America and is seen as one of the most essential hip-hop albums of 90s.The Lowdown:
Cypress Hill 'Psycobetabuckdown', 'Something for the Blunted', 'Latin Lingo', 'The Funky Cypress Hill Shit', and 'Born to Get Busy'
from 'Cypress Hill' (1991) (MP3/CD)
Parliament 'Aquaboogie (A Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop)'
from 'Motor-Booty Affair' (1977) (MP3/CD)
Willie Hutch 'Foxy Lady'
from 'Foxy Brown' (1974) (MP3/CD not available)
Curtis Mayfield 'Future Shock'
from 'Back to the World' (1973) (MP3/CD)
Harlem Underground Band 'Smokin' Cheeba Cheeba'
from 'Harlem Underground' (1976) (MP3/CD not available)
Sly and the Family Stone 'Sing a Simple Song'
from 'Stand!' (1969) (MP3/CD)
Elephant's Memory 'Mongoose'
from 'Take it to the Streets' (1970) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Edwin Starr 'Funky Music Sho Nuff Turns Me On'
from 'Involved' (1971) (MP3 not available/CD)
Pazant Brothers and the Beaufort Express 'A Gritty Nitty'
from 'Loose and Juicy' (1975) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Village Callers 'Hector'
from 'Live' (1968) (MP3/CD)
Five Stairsteps 'The New Dance Craze'
from 'Our Family Portrait' (1971) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Mandrill 'Fencewalk'
from 'Composite Truth' (1973) (MP3 not available/CD)
Booker T. and the M.G.'s 'Bootleg'
from 'And Now!' (1966) (MP3 not available/CD)
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Welcome to our second look at Kanye West's 'The College Dropout'.
One of 'College Dropout''s standout album tracks is Kanye's 'School Spirit' sampling Aretha Franklin's 'Spirit in the Dark' from her 1970 album of the same name. Knowledge jewel: 'School Spirit' is edited for language because one of Aretha Franklin's stipulation for using the sample is there was no cursing over it. The Kanye, Freeway, and Mos Def posse cut 'Two Words' features a sample from Mandrill's 'Peace and Love (Amani Na Mapenzi) - Movement IV' from their self-titled 1970 album. Look for future posts about both Free and Mos this month on this blog.
The album's lead single is the outstanding 'Through the Wire', which put Kanye on the map as a rapper in addition to a producer. The track samples and interpolates Chaka Khan's 'Through the Fire' from her hit album 'I Feel for You' from 1984. West's 'Family Business' cuts a sample from 'Fonky Thang' by the Dells from 1972's 'Sweet as Funk Can Be'. The album ends with the track 'Last Call', co-produced by Porse. West's story of joining the Roc thematically uses a loop from Bette Midler's 'Mr. Rockefeller' from her album 'Songs for the New Depression'.
In addition to 'The College Dropout', Kanye produced a grip of great single in 2004 and returned in 2005 with his sophomore album 'Late Registration' (look for a multi-post arc about 'Late Registration' in the future).The Lowdown:
Kanye West 'School Spirit', 'Two Words', 'Through the Wire', 'Family Business', and 'Last Call'
from 'College Dropout' (2004) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit: 'School Spirit', 'Two Words', 'Through the Wire', 'Family Business', and 'Last Call'
Aretha Franklin 'Spirit in the Dark'
from 'Spirit in the Dark' (1970) (MP3/CD)
Mandrill 'Peace and Love (Amani Na Mapenzi) - Movement IV'
from 'Mandrill' (1970) (MP3 not avialable/CD)
Chaka Khan 'Through the Fire'
from 'I Feel for You' (1984) (MP3/CD)
The Dells 'Fonky Thang'
from 'Sweet as Funk Can Be' (1972) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Bette Midler 'Mr. Rockefeller'
from 'Songs for the New Depression' (1976) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Mandrill has always been a popular pick for crate diggers (though, this is their first appearance on this blog), so 'Khidja''s appearance on Quasimoto's 'Green Power' is not as unusual as the rest of 'The Unseen''s sample sources. The track '24-7' uses a relatively obscure single by Jacob Miller: 'False Rasta'. This is the second reggae track appearing on 'The Unseen', so it should have been no surprise that two years after the release of this album, Madlib would present his reggae / dub DJ mix 'Blunted in the Bomb Shelter'. The album's title cut cuts up one of hip-hop's most essential (though not heavily used) breakbeats. 'California Soul' from Marlena Shaw's 'The Spice of Life' begins with a gigantic, echoey opening drum break. In a future post on this blog, 'California Soul' will be covered in depth.
Check back for the final section of 'The Unseen', a comprehensive look at 'Return of the Loop Digga'.The Lowdown:
Quasimoto 'Green Power', '24-7', and 'The Unseen'.
from 'The Unseen' (2000) (MP3/CD)
Mandrill 'Khidja'
from 'Mandrilland' (1974) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Jacob Miller 'False Rasta'
Marlena Shaw 'California Soul'
from 'The Spice of Life' (1968) (MP3/CD)
