Rewind: Jay-Z 'Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life'

Released on September 29th of 1998, Jay-Z's third full length, 'Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life' dropped following the breakout hit of its lead single. This post will look at the producers and the artists sampled for Jay-Z's hit album.

'Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)' was the polarizing lead single from the album, featuring Mark the 45 King flipping the song 'It's a Hard Knock Life' from Peter Gennaro's 1977 version of the broadway musical 'Annie'. No one could have foreseen the impact of sampling such a strange song, or the terrible knockoffs it would produce (I'm looking at you 'Anything'). On the J-Runnah produced 'A Week Ago', Jigga and Too Short rhyme over the Isley Brothers deep album cut 'Ballad for the Fallen Soldier' from their own hit album 'Between the Sheets' from 1983. The Erick Sermon produced 'Reservoir Dogs' features Jay-Z, Beanie Sigel, and innexplicably the Lox on the rhythm of Isaac Hayes' 'Theme from Shaft'. The song also features a sample of '24 Carat Black (Theme)' from 24 Carat Black's lone Stax album 'Ghetto: Misfortune's Wealth' from 1973, which has since been a highly coveted beat tool by producers. Jay-Z's 'It's Like That' finds Kid Capri sampling the rock song 'Beggar's Song' from Wet Willie's eponymous 1971 album. Finally, Jermaine Dupri and Jay-Z team up for the bonus track 'Money Ain't a Thing' which has Dupri sampling Steve Arrington's hit 'Weak at the Knees' and has the stuttered drum shuffle of Manu Dibango's African crossover hit 'Soul Makossa' from his 1972 album of the same title.

The Lowdown:
Jay-Z 'Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)', 'A Week Ago', 'Reservoir Dogs', 'It's Like That', and 'Money Ain't a Thing'
from 'Vol. 2' (1998) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edits: 'Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)', 'A Week Ago', 'Reservoir Dogs', 'It's Like That', and 'Money Ain't a Thing'
Peter Gennaro 'It's a Hard Knock Life'
from 'Annie' (1977) (MP3 not available/CD)
The Isley Brothers 'Ballad for the Fallen Soldier'
from 'Between the Sheets' (1983) (MP3/CD)
Isaac Hayes 'Theme from Shaft'
from 'Shaft' (1971) (MP3/CD)
24 Carat Black '24 Carat Black (Theme)'
from 'Ghetto: Misfortune's Wealth' (1973) (MP3 not available/CD)
Wet Willie 'Beggar's Song'
from 'Wet Willie' (1971) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Steve Arrington 'Weak at the Knees'
from 'Steve Arrington Hall of Fame I' (1983) (MP3/CD not available)
Manu Dibango 'Soul Makossa'
from 'Soul Makossa' (1972) (MP3 not available/Import CD)

Rewind: Ghostface Killah 'The Big Doe Rehab' (Part 1)

In 2007, Ghostface Killah delivered his 7th major label solo album 'The Big Doe Rehab'. This two part arc will cover the sample sources, producers, and guests of Ghost's latest album to date.

Beanie Sigel and Styles P appear on Ghost's heavy hitting album cut 'Toney Sigel A.K.A. the Barrel Brothers' produced by the Hitmen production teams' LV and Sean C. Similar to the team's work on Jay-Z's 'American Gangster', this track relies on a deep crate sample: Al Wilson's 1971 single 'Falling in Love with You'. The team used a much more well known sample for the album's opening single 'We Celebrate' with Kid Capri. They use Rare Earth's huge 1971 hit 'I Just Want to Celebrate' from the album 'One World'. On 'Walk Alone', Anthony Acid uses Little Milton's 'Packed Up and Took My Mind' as a backing for Ghostface, Trife Da God, and Sun God. Scram Jones and Frequency provide the beat for Ghost's bizarre celeb-obsessed 'White Linen Affair (Toney Awards)' which lifts a sample from 'That's the Way It's Got to Be (Body and Soul)' from the Soul Generation's 1972 album 'Beyond Body and Soul'.

Check back for more tracks from 'The Big Doe Rehab' and their sources.

The Lowdown:
Ghostface Killah 'Toney Sigel A.K.A. The Barrel Brothers', 'We Celebrate', 'Walk Around', and 'White Linen Affair (Toney Affair)'
from 'The Big Doe Rehab' (2007) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edits: 'Toney Sigel A.K.A. The Barrel Brothers', 'We Celebrate', 'Walk Around', and 'White Linen Affair (Toney Affair)'
Al Wilson 'Fallin' in Love with You'
from 'Fallin' in Love with You' 7" (1971) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Rare Earth 'I Just Want to Celebrate'
from 'One World' (1971) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Little Milton 'Packed Up and Took My Mind'
from 'Tin Pan Alley' (1974) (MP3/CD)
Soul Generation 'That's the Way It's Got to Be (Body and Soul)'
from 'Beyond Body and Soul' (1972) (MP3/Import CD)

Related Posts:
Rewind: Ghostface Killah 'Ironman'
Rewind: Ghostface Killah 'Supreme Clientele' (Part 1)
Rewind: Ghostface Killah 'Supreme Clientele' (Part 2)
Rewind: Ghostface Killah 'Supreme Clientele' (Part 3)
Rewind: Jay-Z 'American Gangster' (Part 1) (Hitmen production work)
Rewind: Jay-Z 'American Gangster' (Part 2) (Hitmen production work)

Rewind: Beanie Sigel 'The Reason'

In 2001, Beanie Sigel released his sophomore effort 'The Reason'. Like much of Roc-a-fella's output from the early 00s, this album has a soulful sound with numerous contributions from the in house production team of Just Blaze and Kanye West. This blog post will cover the key cuts from 'The Reason' and the samples used to create them.

Just Blaze produced the track 'So What You Saying' for Bean and label mate Memphis Bleek. The track samples B.T. Express' often used 'If It Don't Turn You On (You Ought to Leave It Alone)' from their 1974 album 'Do It ('Til Your Satisfied)'. Blaze also laces Sigel with the bumping 'Get Down' which is cut from Quincy Jones' title track from his soundtrack to 'The Lost Man'. Chicago veteran producer and Kanye mentor No I.D. contributes the beat for 'Man's World' which is deftly constructed from James Brown's 'It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World' from the 1966 album of the same title. 'Still Got Love For You' finds Just Blaze using the huge break from Isaac Hayes' 'Ike's Mood I' from his album ''...To Be Continued''.

Look out for more Roc classics from this period to be covered in future posts on this blog.

The Lowdown:
Beanie Sigel 'So What You Saying', 'Get Down', 'Man's World', and 'Still Got Love For You'
from 'The Reason' (2001) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edits: 'So What You Saying', 'Get Down', 'Man's World', and 'Still Got Love For You'
B.T. Express 'If It Don't Turn You On (You Ought to Leave It Alone)'
from 'Do It ('Til Your Satisfied)' (1974) (MP3/CD)
Quincy Jones 'Lost Man'
from 'The Lost Man' (1968) (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)
Isaac Hayes 'Ike's Mood I' (Radio Edit)
from '...To Be Continued' (1969) (MP3/CD)

Related Posts:
Producer Profile: Kanye west (Part 1, 2000) (Beanie Sigel Appearance)
Producer Profile: Just Blaze (Part 1, 2000-2001) (Beanie Sigel Appearance)

Rewind: Freeway 'Philadelphia Freeway' (Part 1)

Philly stand up! One of the best albums released during Just Blaze and Kanye West's time as Roc-a-fella's in house production wizards is 2003's 'Philadelphia Freeway', the debut album by Freeway. This two part post will cover the sample sources of this album.

The album's biggest hit, which is still a vital mid 00s hip-hop banger, is Just Blaze's awesomely produced 'What We Do' with Beanie Sigel and Jay-Z. Blaze uses a deep crate sample from 'I Just Can't See Myself Without You' by Creative Source from the album 'Migration'. The beat to this one sounds as fresh today as it did five years ago and has become an East Coast classic. Ruggedness produced the beat for Freeway's 'Life' utilizing the most bizarre sample on the album: Eddie Money's 'Life for the Taking' from his 1977 rock album of the same name. Free's 'Victim of the Ghetto' with Roc vocalist Rell, produced by Bink, uses a sample from 'We Belong Together' by the Spinners and Dionne Warwick.

Check back for part 2 of our look at 'Philadelphia Freeway'.

The Lowdown:
Freeway 'What We Do', 'Life', and 'Victim of the Ghetto'
from 'Philadelphia Freeway' (2003) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit:'What We Do', 'Life', and 'Victim of the Ghetto'
Creative Source 'I Just Can't See Myself Without You'
from 'Migration' (1974) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Eddie Money 'Life for the Taking'
from 'Life for the Taking' (1977) (MP3/CD)
The Spinners and Dionne Warwick 'We Belong Together'
from 'The Spinners' (1971) (MP3/CD)

Related Posts:
Rewind: Kanye West 'College Dropout' (Part 2) (Freeway Appearance)

Producer Profile: Just Blaze (Part 1, 2000-2001)

Justin Smith, better known as Just Blaze, began his production career in his native New Jersey before becoming one of Roc-A-Fella Records' in house producers (along with Kanye West during the same time period). This post will cover Just Blaze's early production credits from 2000-2001 and his deep crate sample sources.

Just Blaze's first big break came on Jay-Z's 'The Dynasty: Roc La Familia' from 2000. On the album, Just Blaze produced five tracks including 'Soon You'll Understand', which samples Al Kooper's film score track 'Love Theme' from 1971's 'The Landlord'. One of Blaze's fortés is flipping rock samples, and an early example is on 'In My Life' from Memphis Bleek's 2000 album 'The Understanding'. For 'In My Life', Just Blaze uses Foreigner's ultra-cheesy ballad 'I Want to Know What Love Is' (who does that?!). One of my personal favorite tracks from Beanie Sigel's album 'The Reason' is the bombastic 'Get Down' which snips a sample from Quincy Jones' score for 'The Lost Man'.

Check back for part 2 of our look at Just Blaze's production career.

The Lowdown:
Jay-Z 'Soon You'll Understand'
from 'The Dynasty: Roc La Familia' (2000) (MP3/CD)
Clean: 'Soon You'll Understand'
Al Kooper 'Love Theme'
from 'The Landlord' (1971) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Memphis Bleek 'In My Life'
from 'The Understanding' (2000) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit: 'In My Life'
Foreigner 'I Want to Know What Love Is'
from 'Agent Provocateur' (1984) (MP3/CD)
Beanie Sigel 'Get Down'
from 'The Reason' (2001) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit: 'Get Down'
Quincy Jones 'Lost Man'
from 'The Lost Man' (1968) (MP3 not available/CD not available)

Rewind: Jay-Z 'Vol. 3'

Jay-Z's fourth studio album, 1999's 'Vol. 3', is perhaps not his best outing, but still contains more than a few hits and notable tracks with contributions for hip-hop's most wanted producers. This post will explore 'Vol. 3' and its sample basis.

The opener 'Hova Song (Intro)' uses a sample of the same song by two different artists. Jimi Hendrix's version of 'Burning of the Midnight Lamp' from 'Electric Ladyland' and Rotary Connection's version of the same song are both used in the album intro. The most controversial sample source on the album is not even a sample: Washington DC go-go legends Rare Essence claim that their song 'Overnight Scenario' is the basis for the single 'Do it Again (Put Ya Hands Up)' with Beanie Sigel and Amil, produced by Rockwilder. See for yourself if you think 'Do it Again' steals 'Overnight Scenario''s countdown of events.

The smash hit of the album (originally a B-side) is the Timbaland produced 'Big Pimpin'' with UGK that samples Egyptian instrumentalist Hossam Ramzy's instantly recognizable 'Khusara Khusara'. This is the song that set Indian samples into motion in American hip-hop (for better or for worse) for the next few years. Finally, the track 'There's Been a Murder' uses an odd sample source, 'Murder' by pop artist Alana Davis released only two years earlier.

The Lowdown:
Jay-Z 'Hova Song (Intro)', 'Do it Again (Put Ya Hands Up)', 'Big Pimpin'', and 'There's Been a Murder'
from 'Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter' (1999) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit:'Hova Song (Intro)', 'Do it Again (Put Ya Hands Up)', 'Big Pimpin'', and 'There's Been a Murder'
The Jimi Hendrix Experience 'Burning the Midnight Lamp'
from 'Electric Ladyland' (1968) (MP3/CD)
Rotary Connection 'Burning the Midnight Lamp'
from 'Songs' (1969) (MP3 not available/CD)
Rare Essence 'Overnight Scenario'
from 'We Go On and On' (1998) (MP3 not available/CD)
Hossam Ramzy 'Khusara Khusara'
Alana Davis 'Murder'
from 'Blame it On Me' (1997) (MP3/CD)

Producer Profile: Kanye West (Part 2, 2001-2002)

Kanye West's commercial breakthrough as a producer came in 2001 when he contributed a number of tracks and charting singles to Jay-Z's 'The Blueprint', often cited a sea change in Jay-Z's career thanks, in part, to the sound of West and Just Blaze. 'The Blueprint' will be covered in depth in a future post of this blog, so I will only cover one of Kanye's beats: the excellent 'Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)' which samples generously from Bobby Bland's 'Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City' from his 1973 album 'Dreamer'. Although he produced stellar singles for Jay-Z, his stock was set to rise even more in 2002.

Talib Kweli's 'Get By' was inescapable in 2002, thanks to Kanye's swift edit of Nina Simone's 'Sinnerman' from her album 'Pastel Blues'. The single, laced with then newcomer / future Kanye collaborator John Legend's background vocals, was a new high water mark for both West and Kweli and the track is arguably Talib Kweli's career defining moment to date. 2002 also saw the release of some of his production work for Scarface for his 2002 album 'The Fix'. Kanye samples 'Sunrise' by the Originals for Scarface's single 'Guess Who's Back' with guest appearances from Jay-Z and Beanie Sigel. In 2002, Nas' 'The Lost Tapes' album saw release, which included one of Kanye West's ghost productions for Deric 'D-Dot' Angelettie. 'Poppa Was a Playa' from 'The Lost Tapes' contains a sample of 'The Newness is Gone' by Eddie Kendricks from his album 'Goin' Up in Smoke'.

Check back for the next look at Kanye's production output and also be on the lookout for future posts covering his albums.

The Lowdown:
Jay-Z 'Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)'
from 'The Blueprint' (2001) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit:'Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)'
Bobby Bland 'Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City'
from 'Dreamer' (1973) (MP3/Import CD)
Talib Kweli 'Get By'
from 'Quality' (2002) (MP3 not available/CD)
Nina Simone 'Sinnerman'
from 'Pastel Blues' (1965) (MP3/CD)
Scarface 'Guess Who's Back'
from 'The Fix' (2002) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit:'Guess Who's Back'
The Originals 'Sunrise'
from 'Down to Love Town' (1977) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Nas 'Poppa Was a Playa'
from 'The Lost Tapes' (2002) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit:'Poppa Was a Playa'
Eddie Kendricks 'The Newness is Gone'
from 'Goin' Up in Smoke' (1976) (MP3 not available/CD not available)

BONUS CUTS:
Nina Simone's 'Sinnerman' was a popular track to cover by reggae artists (like many soul singles from the United States). Peter Tosh delivers a classic cover with the slightly rewritten 'Downpressor Man' while Tosh's one time collaborators Bob Marley and the Wailers delivered their own 'Sinner Man'.

Producer Profile: Kanye West (Part 1, 2000)

Previous to hit records on his own and for others, mega-package tours, and paper cut-out shades; Kanye West was just another hungry beat maker. 2000 saw his breakthrough onto major labels with a few notable productions leading to his break out beat for Jay-z's 'Izzo' in 2001. The first track to put West on the Rocafella map was an album cut for Jay-z's 'The Dynasty: Roc La Familia' titled 'This Can't Be Life' that samples 'I Miss You' by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. This inclusion on Jay-Z's album would lead to production on four tracks for 'The Blueprint' including three of its singles. 'The Blueprint' will be examined in depth in a future post of this blog.

Kanye West also produced for Rocafella rapper Beanie Sigel in 2000, lacing him with a stomping track cut from Graham Nash's protest anthem 'Chicago'. The rolling rock stomp of 'The Truth' foreshadows the beat for Jay-Z's 'Takeover'. Another unusual sample choice from West is Pat Benatar's 70s hit 'Heartbreaker' for Lil Kim's 'Don't Mess with Me' from her 2000 album 'The Notorious K.I.M.'.

The Lowdown:
Jay-Z 'This Can't Be Life'
from 'The Dynasty: Roc La Familia' (2000) (MP3/CD)
Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes 'I Miss You'
from 'Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes' (1972) (MP3 unavailable/CD unavailable)
Beanie Sigel 'The Truth'
from 'The Truth' (2000) (MP3 unavailable/CD)
Graham Nash 'Chicago'
from 'Songs for Beginners' (1970) (MP3/CD unavailable)
Lil Kim 'Don't Mess with Me'
from 'The Notorious K.I.M.' (2000) (MP3/CD)
Pat Benatar 'Heartbreaker'
from 'In the Heat of the Night' (1979) (MP3/CD)

BONUS CUTS:
Kanye West admits to using the drums from Dr. Dre's 'Xxplosive' to beef up 'This Can't Be Life'. For best results in jacking the beat for your own track, check out the instrumental for 'Xxplosive'.