Source Material: James Brown 'Black Caesar' (Part 1)

In the period of 1971 to 1974, James Brown had 25 top 100 charting singles and released 9 full length albums, all while extensively touring the country. Among some of his career defining releases is the soundtrack to 1973's 'Black Caesar', which was a nod to the film Little Caesar and not a nod to the 16th century pirate called Black Casear. The film helped launch former-football star Fred Williamson's career and also gave hip-hop some of its best ammunition. This two part blog arc will cover the contribution of 'Black Caesar''s samples to hip-hop.

The album's excellent opening track 'Down and Out in New York City' was Black Caesar's lone single. DJ Premier used it as the backing for Rakim's 'New York (Ya Out There)' from his 1997 solo album 'The 18th Letter'. James Brown's 'Blind Man Can See It' was used in 1990 by Diamond D for Lord Finesse's hip-hop landmark 'Funky Technician'. Two years later, Das EFX used the same song for their YO MTV Raps! staple 'They Want EFX'.

One of 'Black Caesar''s highlights, both on the soundtrack and in the film, is 'The Boss' - an overlooked classic in James' catalog. The beat is not overlooked in the world of hip-hop though: Ice-T used 'The Boss' for his 1989 track 'You Played Yourself'. In 2002, Salaam Remi produced Nas' 'Get Down', a hit from Nas' album 'God's Son' due to its throwback appeal.

Check back for part two of our look at 'Black Caesar'.

The Lowdown:
James Brown 'Down and Out in New York City', 'Blind Man Can See It', and 'The Boss'
from 'Black Caesar' (1973) (MP3/CD)
Rakim 'New York (Ya Out There)'
from 'The 18th Letter' (1997) (MP3/CD)
Lord Finesse and DJ Mike Smooth 'Funky Technician'
from 'Funky Technician' (1990) (MP3/CD)
Das EFX 'They Want EFX'
from 'Dead Serious' (1992) (MP3 not available/CD)
Ice-T 'You Played Yourself'
from 'The Iceberg' (1989) (MP3/CD)
Nas 'Get Down'
from 'God's Son' (2002) (MP3/CD)

Rewind: Das EFX 'Dead Serious'

Formed in 1988 and found by EPMD at a talent show, Das EFX's platinum selling debut 'Dead Serious' became part of the soundtrack of 1992 with a series of charting singles with some popular sample sources. This entry into the Crate Creator blog will look at Das EFX's debut album in depth.

Lead single B-Side 'Jussummen' takes its refrain (and a few samples) from Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh's classic 1985 b-side 'La-Di-Da-Di' from their 'The Show' 12". 'Jussummen' also samples the Emotions' open break necessity 'Blind Alley' produced by David Porter for Stax. Das EFX's biggest single was their debut track 'They Want EFX', which samples James Brown's 'Black Caesar' soundtrack album cut 'Blind Men Can See It' as well as the heavy title track from his 1973 album 'The Payback'. Also sampled on 'They Want EFX' is Malcolm McLarens cash-in turned classic 'Buffalo Gals' from the highly suspect 'Duck Rock' album. The album track 'Dum Dums' takes its name from its source material: 'The Happy Song (Dun-Dum)' by Otis Redding. Finally, Das EFX's 'East Coast' samples East Coast phenoms ESG who emulated extra-terrestrial phenomena on 'UFO'. The track also samples Isaac Hayes' 'Ike's Mood I / You've Lost that Lovin' Feelin'' from '...To Be Continued' (worth the price of the album on its own) and the beat from James Brown's 'Funky President (People It's Bad)' from his 1975 album 'Reality'.

The reality of Das EFX's career was their signature rhyming style would be their downfall. After hitting big with the 'Check Yo Self' remix with Ice Cube, many other emcees bit their 'iggity' rhyme style, prompting Das EFX to drop it and more or less drop off themselves. Although they've released four albums since their debut, none have been able to copy the success of 'Dead Serious'.

The Lowdown:
Das EFX 'Jussummen', 'They Want EFX', 'Dum Dums', and 'East Coast'
from 'Dead Serious' (1992) (MP3 not available/CD)
Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh 'La-Di-Da-Di'
from 'The Show' (1985) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
The Emotions 'Blind Alley'
from 'Untouched' (1971) (MP3/CD)
James Brown 'Blind Man Can See It'
from 'Black Caesar' (1973) (MP3/CD)
James Brown 'The Payback'
from 'The Payback' (1973) (MP3/CD)
Malcolm McLaren 'Buffalo Gals'
from 'Duck Rock' (1983) (MP3/CD not available)
Otis Redding 'The Happy Song (Dun-Dum)'
from 'The Immortal Otis Redding' (1968) (MP3/CD)
ESG 'UFO'
from 'ESG' (1981) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Isaac Hayes 'Ike's Mood I / You've Lost that Lovin' Feelin''
from '...To Be Continued' (1969) (MP3/CD)
James Brown 'Funky President (People It's Bad)'
from 'Reality' (1975) (MP3 not available/CD not available)