Rewind: Massive Attack 'Protection'

Any band would be hard-pressed to follow up an acclaimed debut album, much less one that started a new genre in England, but Massive Attack did just that in style in 1994 when they released their sophomore album 'Protection'. This blog post will look at the sample sources of Massive Attack's second album.

The sped up guitar pangs that lead the album's single 'Protection' along are sampled from one of the coldest 7 minutes in funk history: James Brown's 'Payback' from his 1973 album of the same title. On 'Weather Storm', Massive Attack sample the jazz-fusion group Peices of a Dream's 'It's Time for Love' from their 1983 album 'Imagine This'. Horace Andy accompanies Massive Attack on 'Spying Glass' which utilizes a sample from Joe Gibbs and the Professional's famous dub cut 'Chapter 3'. JB gets sampled again on the album, this time Massive Attack use his 1972 cut 'Never Can Say Goodbye' from 'There It Is' on the track 'Better Things'. The title of the single 'Sly' alludes to its sample source: Sly Stone of course with 'Africa Talks to You (The Asphalt Jungle)' from Sly and the Family Stone's 1971 album 'There's a Riot Goin' On'. Finally, on the hidden live track 'Light My Fire', a cover of the Doors, Massive Attack sample another cover of the same song: Young-Holt Unlimited's cover of 'Light My Fire' from thier album 'Just a Melody'.

The Lowdown:
Massive Attack 'Protection', 'Weather Storm', 'Spying Glass', 'Better Things', 'Sly', and 'Light My Fire'
from 'Protection' (1994) (MP3/CD)
James Brown 'Payback'
from 'Payback' (1973) (MP3/CD)
Pieces of a Dream 'It's Time for Love'
from 'Imagine This' (1983) (MP3/CD)
Joe Gibbs and the Professionals 'Chapter 3'
from 'African Dub All-Mighty Chapter 3' (1978) (MP3 not available/CD)
James Brown 'Never Can Say Goodbye'
from 'There it Is' (1972) (MP3/CD not available)
Sly and the Family Stone 'Africa Talks to You (The Asphalt Jungle)'
from 'There's a Riot Goin' On' (1971) (MP3/CD)
Young-Holt Unlimited 'Light My Fire'
from 'Just a Melody' (1969) (MP3 not available/CD not available)

Rewind: Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth 'The Main Ingredient' (Part 3)

Welcome to our third and final look at Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth's second and final album 'The Main Ingredient'.

On 'Searching', Pete Rock sampled the Roy Ayers Ubiquity track 'Searching' from 1976's 'Vibrations'. The track 'Check it Out' finds C.L. rhyming on Young-Holt Unlimited's 'Bumpin' on Young Street' from 1972'2 'Oh Girl'. 'In the Flesh' features a sample from 1966's 'Ralph's New Blues' by the Modern Jazz Quartet as well as a sample from Steve Miller Band's 1976 hit 'Fly Like an Eagle' from the album of the same name. The outro of 'In the Flesh' features two very samplable funk joints: Kool and the Gang's 'Duji' from the 1974 album 'Kool Jazz' and Average White Band's breakbeat 'School Boy Crush' from the 1975 album 'Cut the Cake'. Pete Rock returns to Tom Scott's 'The Honeysuckle Breeze' on 'It's on You' by sampling 'Never My Love'. The song also samples Ahmad Jamal's 'The Awakening' from his 1970 album of the same name. On the closing track 'Get on the Mic', Pete Rock samples the Stax single 'Soul Girl' by Jeanne and the Darlings. On the album's final outro, he samples another cut from Ahmad Jamal's 'The Awakening': 'You're My Everything'.

Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth parted ways in 1995, following some commercial success with 'The Main Ingredient''s singles. Pete Rock followed up with a series of well received solo albums while C.L. Smooth appeared sporadically on other albums as cameos before his 2006 debut solo album 'American Me' (featuring one track produced by Pete Rock).

The Lowdown:
Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth 'Searching', 'Check it Out', 'In the Flesh', 'It's on You', and 'Get on the Mic'
from 'The Main Ingredient' (1994) (MP3/CD)
Roy Ayers Ubiquity 'Searching'
from 'Vibrations' (1976) (MP3/CD)
Young-Holt Unlimited 'Bumpin' on Young Street'
from 'Oh Girl' (1972) (MP3/CD)
Modern Jazz Quartet 'Ralph's New Blues'
from 'Blues at Carnegie Hall' (1966) (MP3/CD not available)
Steve Miller Band 'Fly Like an Eagle'
from 'Fly Like an Eagle' (1976) (MP3/CD)
Kool and the Gang 'Duji'
from 'Kool Jazz' (1974) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Average White Band 'School Boy Crush'
from 'Cut the Cake' (1975) (MP3/CD)
Tom Scott 'Never My Love'
from 'The Honeysuckle Breeze' (1968) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Ahmad Jamal 'The Awakening' and 'You are My Everything'
from 'The Awakening' (1970) (MP3/CD)
Jeanne and the Darlings 'Soul Girl'
from 'Soul Girl' 7" (1968) (MP3 not available/CD not available)

The Breaks: Young-Holt Unlimited 'Soulful Strut'

This edition of the breaks may be a little goofy to hardcore hip-hop fans, but its undeniable that Young-Holt Unlimited's 1968 instrumental 'Soulful Strut' has spawned its share of hot hip-hop songs through sampling. This post will look at the songs that have sampled 'Soulful Strut'.

The version of 'Soulful Strut' that most people remember is not the instrumental at all. Barbara Acklin's 'Am I the Same Girl',written by Chi-Lites member Eugene Record, was a top 100 hit ('Soulful Strut' peaked at #3). The song appeared on her album 'Seven Days of Night' and less than a year later was covered by Dusty Springfield whose recording of 'Am I the Same Girl' became a modest hit in the UK.

In 1989, Miami's 2 Live Crew sampled 'Soulful Strut' for their song 'Coolin'' for their breakthrough dirty-dirty album 'As Nasty as They Wanna Be'. Two years later, the song was sampled again by Nice and Smooth for the track 'Step by Step' for their album 'Ain't a Damn Thing Changed'. On the soundtrack of the 1993 film 'Poetic Justice', Pete Rock produces the excellent harder to find Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth cut 'One in a Million'. In 2004, with Betty 'Tonight is the Night' Wright in charge of production, Joss Stone sampled 'Soulful Strut' on her song 'Don't Cha Wanna Ride' on her album 'Mind Body and Soul'.

The Lowdown:
Young-Holt Unlimited 'Soulful Strut'
from 'Soulful Strut' (1968) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Barbara Acklin 'Am I the Same Girl'
from 'Seven Days of Night' (1969) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Dusty Springfield 'Am I the Same Girl'
from 'Am I the Same Girl' 7" (1969) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
2 Live Crew 'Coolin''
from 'As Nasty as They Wanna Be' (1989) (MP3/CD)
Nice and Smooth 'Step by Step'
from 'Ain't a Damn Thing Changed' (1991) (MP3/CD)
Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth 'One in a Million'
from 'Poetic Justice' soundtrack (1993) (MP3/CD not available)
Joss Stone 'Don't Cha Wanna Ride'
from 'Mind Body and Soul' (2004) (MP3/CD)

Related Posts:
Rewind: Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth 'The Creator'

Producer Profile: DJ Premier (part 2, 1991-1993)

Following his work on the debut Gang Starr album and the Wild Pitch label, DJ Premier continued to produce some excellent beats through the early years of the 90s. This post will cover some of his highlights from 1991-1993.

Gang Starr will undoubtedly be covered in more detail in the future, but one of Primo's classic productions from 1991 cannot go unmentioned. 'Lovesick' from Gang Starr's album 'Step in the Arena' features fantastic use of the Delfonics' soul anthem 'Trying to Make a Fool of Me' in addition to the Young Holt Unlimited's 'Ain't There Something Money Cant Buy'. In 1992, Primo produced 'Here Comes the Heavster' from Heavy D and the Boyz' album 'Blue Funk'. The track digs deep in the jazz crates for Charles Mingus' 1956 cut 'A Foggy Day' from 'Pithecanthropus Erectus'. Premier produced 6 tracks from 1993's 'Return of the Boom Bap' by KRS-One. On 'Outta Here', Premier samples drums from James Brown's excellent 'Funky President (People It's Bad)'.

Be on the look out for part 3 of our look at DJ Premier, whose productions in 1994 include to of hip-hop's most widely revered albums: 'Illmatic' and 'Ready to Die'.

The Lowdown:
Gang Starr 'Lovesick'
from 'Step in the Arena' (1991) (MP3/CD)
The Delfonics 'Trying to Make a Fool of Me'
from 'The Delfonics' (1969) (MP3/CD)
Young Holt Unlimited 'Ain't There Something Money Cant Buy'
from 'Soulful Strut' (1968) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Heavy D and the Boyz 'Here Comes the Heavster'
from 'Blue Funk' (1992) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Charles Mingus 'A Foggy Day'
from 'Pithecanthropus Erectus' (1956) (MP3/CD)
KRS-One 'Outta Here'
from 'Return of the Boom Bap' (1993) (MP3/CD)
James Brown 'Funky President (People It's Bad)'
from 'Reality' (1975) (MP3 not available/CD not available)

Rewind: The Pharcyde 'Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde' (Part 2)

Welcome to part 2 of our look at 'Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde'.

'On the DL' from 'Bizarre Ride' samples two tracks from Stanley Cowell 1974 album 'Musa - Ancestral Streams': 'Travelin' Man' and 'Equipoise'. The track also takes a clip from the Meters' 'Struttin'' album track 'Hey! Last Minute'. 'Officer' goes back to JB for two samples: James Brown's 'Funky Drummer' and the J.B.'s 'The Grunt' from 1972's 'Food for Thought'. 'Officer' also samples the Charles Stepney produced 1968 track 'The Mighty Quinn' by Ramsey Lewis from his album 'Maiden Voyage'. The J-Swift produced lead single for 'Bizarre Ride' was the hit 'Ya Mama', which samples Mike Bloomfield, Al Kooper, and Stephen Stills' 'Seasons of the Witch' from 1968's 'Super Session' album, Young Holt Unlimited's 'Yes We Can Can' and the 'Wattstax' live album track 'I Don't Know What This World is Coming To' by the Stax unit the Soul Children.

Check back for part 3 of our look at 'Bizarre Ride to the Pharcyde'.

The Lowdown:
The Pharcyde 'On the DL', 'Officer', and 'Ya Mama'
from 'Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde' (1992) (MP3/CD)
Stanley Cowell 'Travelin' Man' and 'Equipoise'
from 'Musa - Ancestral Streams' (1974) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
The Meters 'Hey Last Minute!'
from 'Struttin'' (1969) (MP3/CD)
James Brown 'Funky Drummer'
from 'Funky Drummer' 7" (1970) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
The J.B.'s 'The Grunt'
from 'Food For Thought' (1972) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
Ramsey Lewis 'The Mighty Quinn'
from 'Maiden Voyage' (1968) (MP3/Import CD)
Mike Bloomfield, Al Kooper, and Stephen Stills 'Seasons of the Witch'
from 'Super Session' (1968) (MP3/CD)
Young Holt Unlimited 'Yes We Can Can'
from 'Oh Girl' (1972) (MP3/CD)
The Soul Children 'I Don't Know What this World is Coming To'
from 'Wattstax' (1971) (MP3/CD)

Rewind: Above the Law 'Livin' Like Hustlers' (Part 1)

One of Dr. Dre's best post-'Straight Outta Compton' / pre-'The Chronic' production works is the debut album by future Death Row labelmates Above the Law. 1990's 'Livin' Like Hustlers' is the lone album produced by Dre; despite their link to Death Row, Dr. Dre would not return to the boards for their future albums. This two post arc will cover the samples used in one of the West Coast's most overlooked albums.

'Untouchable' is underpinned by the familiar James Brown 'Funky Drummer' break, but also uses samples from Young Holt Unlimited's cover of 'Light My Fire' by the Doors and Quincy Jones' 'Ironside' (most known for its recent use in 'Kill Bill'). The title track to 'Livin' like Hustlers' also samples further from Quincy Jones' 'Smackwater Jack' album, knicking bits of 'Hikky Burr'. It also features another JB sample, the track 'Hot (I Need to Be Loved Loved Loved Loved)' from his 1976 album 'Hot!'.

Above the Law's 'Menace to Society' goes to town with its use of B.T. Express samples, sourcing no less than three tracks from the Express' 1974 hit LP 'Do It ('Til You're Satisfied)'. Dre uses 'This House is Smokin'', 'Once You Get It', and 'Do You Like It' for the backing of 'Menace'.

Check back for part 2 of our look at 'Livin' Like Hustlers'.

The Lowdown:
Above the Law 'Untouchable', 'Livin' Like Hustlers', and 'Menace to Society'
from 'Livin' Like Hustlers' (1989) (MP3/CD)
James Brown 'Funky Drummer'
Young Holt Unlimited 'Light My Fire'
from 'Just a Melody' (1969) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Quincy Jones 'Ironside' and 'Hikky Burr'
from 'Smackwater Jack' (1970) (MP3/Import CD)
James Brown 'Hot (I Need to Be Loved Loved Loved Loved)'
from 'Hot!' (1976) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
B.T. Express 'This House is Smokin'', 'Once You Get It', and 'Do You Like It'
from 'Do It ('Til You're Satisfied)' (1974) (MP3/CD)