Five On It: May 2009's Essentials

Here it is, this month's Five On It: the most necessary breaks of the past month distilled for maximum usability / listenability. This month had some burning hot cuts and also had some big tracks from our James Brown week. Check out what we've got for you.

UGK's 'Hard to Swallow' review was full of classic breaks, two of which we'll highlight this month. Bill Withers' 'Still Bill' is a classic album and no cut is more useful for slo-mo tracks than the hit 'Use Me'. Also, other 'Superfly album cuts have been previously featured as Five On It picks, but this month highlights the single 'Freddie's Dead' for its usefulness to producers. James Brown week featured a look at James Brown's 1974 album 'Hell' and featured the big cut 'My Thang', which may not be the first break one would pick from J.B.'s archive, but is a heavy one. Also featured during our look at James Brown was Myra Barnes' 'Message from the Soul Sisters' when we looked at the numerous songs that sampled that break. Finally, during our look at Ice Cube's 'AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted', we mentioned Funkadelic's heavy 'Standing on the Verge of Getting It On' from the album of the same title. It's no secret that P-Funk samples make up a large part of West Coast hip-hop history, and this song is no exception.

The Lowdown:
Bill Withers 'Use Me'
from 'Still Bill' (1972)(MP3/Import CD)
Curtis Mayfield 'Freddie's Dead'
from 'Superfly' (1972) (MP3/CD)
James Brown 'My Thang'
from 'Hell' (1974) (MP3/CD)
Myra Barnes 'Message from the Soul Sisters'
from 'Message from the Soul Sisters' 7" (1970) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Funkadelic 'Standing on the Verge of Getting It On'
from 'Standing on the Verge of Getting It On' (1974) (MP3/CD)

Bonus Cuts:
Bill Withers' 'Use Me' intro drums have always been a popular sampling source, but that shouldn't take away from the impact of the song itself, which was covered many times by great artists. Esther Phillips delivered a version of 'Use Me' as did Isaac Hayes who played a live version of 'Use Me' at the Sahara Tahoe. In 1981, Grace Jones had a spooky version of 'Use Me' as only Grace Jones could. The original was recently sampled by Kanye West for Nas' track 'Still Dreaming'.

Rewind: UGK 'Too Hard to Swallow'

Underground Kingz formed in 1987, but would only self release a handful of EPs until their 1992 major label debut 'Too Hard to Swallow'. UGK's debut features a who's who of sampled artists, making it one of the early 90s best produced efforts.

The opening track 'Something Good' produced by Bernie Bismark and Shetoro Henderson samples Rufus and Chaka Khan's hit 'Tell Me Something Good' from Rufus' 1973 album 'Rags to Rufus'. Bill Withers' slow motion break on 'Use Me' is the perfect sample for Texas' slow motion raps on UGK's 'Use Me Up', produced by Pimp C. 'Cocaine in the Back of the Ride' does a great job of thematically sampling Curtis Mayfield's 'Superfly soundtrack hit single 'Freddie's Dead'. UGK's 'Crampin' My Style' samples former Five On It winner 'Between the Sheets' from the Isley Brothers' 1982 album of the same name. Finally, the Isleys are sampled again on the Pimp C produced 'I'm So Bad' which samples 'I Turned You On' from the 1969 Isley Brothers album 'The Brothers: Isley'.

UGK followed 'Too Hard to Swallow' with five albums leading to 2007's #1 album 'Underground Kingz', formerly reviewed in this blog. UGK recently released their final album 'UGK 4 Life', completing the work Pimp C and Bun B started before Pimp C untimely death.

The Lowdown:
UGK 'Something Good', 'Use Me Up', 'Cocaine in the Back of the Ride', 'Crampin' My Style', and 'I'm So Bad'
from 'Too Hard to Swallow' (1992) (MP3/CD)
Rufus and Chaka Khan 'Tell Me Something Good'
from 'Rags to Rufus' (1973) (MP3/CD)
Bill Withers 'Use Me'
from 'Still Bill' (1972) (MP3/Import CD)
Curtis Mayfield 'Freddie's Dead'
from 'Superfly' (1972) (MP3/CD)
The Isley Brothers 'Between the Sheets'
from 'Between the Sheets' (1982) (MP3/CD)
The Isley Brothers 'I Turned You On'
from 'The Brothers: Isley' (1969) (MP3 not available/CD not available)

Related Posts:
UGK 'Underground Kingz' (Part 1)
UGK 'Underground Kingz' (Part 2)

Rewind: Scarface 'Mr. Scarface is Back' (Part 2)

Welcome to the second part of our look at Scarface's 1991 debut album 'Mr. Scarface is Back'.

Scarface's 'Diary of a Madman' borrows licks from George Clinton's often sampled 'Atomic Dog'. 'Good Girl Gone Bad' samples more Clinton by way of Funkadelic's 'Good Ole Music' from their 1970 debut album. The track also samples Smokey Robinson and the Miracles' later-career song 'Do Like I Do'. The album's second single, 'A Minute to Pray and a Second to Die', is built on a double shot of Motown classics: 'What's Going On' and 'Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)' both from Marvin Gaye's 1971 magnum opus 'What's Going On'. 'A Minute to Pray...' also samples 'Kissin' My Love' from Bill Withers' hit album 'Still Bill'. The album's final track titled 'I'm Dead' samples its break from the forever funk Meters, using the track 'Thinking' from their 1970 album 'Look-ka Py Py'.

Within two years, 'Mr. Scarface is Back' sold over 500,000 units in the United States and has since been lauded as one of the most important hip-hop albums, not to mention one of the essential releases from Texas' hip-hop scene. In the years after 'Mr. Scarface', his solo career outshined the Geto Boys leading to a series of well recieved albums throughout the 90s and the 00s.

The Lowdown:
Scarface 'Diary of a Madman', 'Good Girl Gone Bad', 'A Minute to Pray and a Second to Die', and 'I'm Dead'
from 'Mr. Scarface is Back' (1991) (MP3/CD)
George Clinton 'Atomic Dog'
from 'Computer Games' (1982) (MP3 not available/CD)
Funkadelic 'Good Ole Music'
from 'Funkadelic' (1970) (MP3 not available/CD)
Smokey Robinson and the Miracles 'Do Like I Do'
from 'Smokey's Family Robinson' (1976) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Marvin Gaye 'What's Goin' On?' and 'Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)'
from 'What's Going On' (1971) (MP3/CD)
Bill Withers 'Kissin' My Love'
from 'Still Bill' (1971) (MP3/CD)
The Meters 'Thinking'
from 'Look-ka Py Py' (1970) (MP3 not available/CD)

Related Posts:
Producer Profile: Kanye West (Part 2, 2001-2002) (Scarface Appearance)
Source Material: Marvin Gaye 'Trouble Man'

Rewind: Dr. Dre 'The Chronic' (Part 1)

After splitting with N.W.A., production credits for Above the Law and the D.O.C., signing to Death Row, and debuting on the 'Deep Cover' soundtrack; the stage was set for Dr. Dre to drop his solo album 'The Chronic' at the end of 1992. It was an instant success, critically acclaimed, and became the new high watermark for West Coast hip-hop. This two-post arc will cover the sample sources of Dr. Dre's undisputed hip-hop classic.

The two minute opening diss-a-thon 'The Chronic (Intro)' samples Solomon Burke's cover of 'Get Out of My Life Woman' and most notably nicks the famous Moog synthesizer tone from the Ohio Players' early single 'Funky Worm'. The excellent single 'Dre Day', a top 10 hit in 1993, samples a grip of Parliament Funkadelic classics whose prevalent song samples are the source of the West Coast G Funk sound. 'Dre Day' samples Parliament's 'Funkentelechy', 'Aquaboogie', 'The Big Bang Theory', and Funkadelic's 1979 track '(Not Just) Knee Deep'. 'Let Me Ride', which surprisingly barely broke the top 40, also hits up George Clinton for samples. The song is built mostly on Parliament's huge single 'Mothership Connection' from the classic 1976 album of the same name while also sampling bits of the live version of 'Swing Down, Sweet Chariot' from Parliament's 'Live: P Funk Earth Tour'. Dre also samples James Brown's 'Funky Drummer' and Bill Withers' 'Kissin' My Love'.

'The Chronic''s biggest single by far was 'Nuthin' but a G Thang' which peaked one spot away from #1 in 1993 (and #1 on the rap charts). The song introduced much of America and the world to Snoop Doggy Dogg's laid back West Coast swagger and became a summer anthem. The most prominent sample in 'G Thang' is a version of Leon Haywood's 'I Wanna Do Something Freaky to You' replayed note for note by a studio band to avoid paying some royalties. The track also utilizes a sample of 'Uphill Battle' from Kid Dynamite's self-titled 1976 album.

Check back for part 2 of our look at 'The Chronic'.

The Lowdown:
Dr. Dre 'The Chronic (Intro)', 'Dre Day', 'Let Me Ride', and 'Nuthin' but a G Thang'
from 'The Chronic' (1992) (MP3 not available/CD)
Solomon Burke 'Get Out of My Life Woman'
from 'I Wish I Knew' (1967) (MP3/CD)
The Ohio Players 'Funky Worm'
from 'Pleasure' (1972) (MP3 not available/CD)
Parliament 'Funkentelechy'
from 'Funkentelechy vs. the Placebo' (1977) (MP3/CD)
Parliament 'Aquaboogie'
from 'Motor Booty Affair' (1978) (MP3/CD)
Parliament 'The Big Bang Theory'
from 'Gloryhallastoopid' (1979) (MP3/CD)
Funkadelic '(Not Just) Knee Deep'
from 'Uncle Jam Wants You' (1979) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Parliament 'Mothership Connection (Star Child)'
from 'Mothership Connection' (1976) (MP3/CD)
Parliament 'Swing Down, Sweet Chariot' (Live)
from 'Live: P Funk Earth Tour' (1976) (MP3/CD)
James Brown 'Funky Drummer'
'Funky Drummer' 7" (1970) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Bill Withers 'Kissin' My Love'
from 'Still Bill' (1971) (MP3/CD)
Leon Haywood 'I Wanna Do Something Freaky to You'
from 'Come and Get Yourself Some' (1979) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Kid Dynamite 'Uphill Peace of Mind'
from 'Kid Dynamite' (1976) (MP3 not available/CD)