Rewind: N.W.A. 'Straight Outta Compton' (Part 3)

It's fitting that our final look at N.W.A.'s debut album 'Straight Outta Compton' is post #187. Not only did the album murder the competition in 1988 (released on August 8th, 21 years ago tomorrow), it murdered Los Angeles' electro leanings and ushered in the age of G-Funk.

Ice Cube flies solo on N.W.A.'s track 'I Ain't the 1', produced by Dr. Dre and DJ Yella. The quirky song samples Brass Construction's 'The Message (Inspiration)' from their 1976 album 'Brass Construction II'. On the 'Dopeman' (Remix), N.W.A. rhyme over Herman Kelly and Life's essential B-boy cut 'Dance to the Drummer's Beat' from the 1978 album 'Percussion Explosion', but heavily re-released on the grey market later through the Ultimate Breakbeats series. N.W.A.'s b-side cut 'Quiet on tha Set' samples George McCrae's 'I Get Lifted' and former Five on It breakbeat of the month 'Rock Creek Park' by the Blackbyrds, produced by the inimitable Donald Byrd. On the album's final track, 'Something 2 Dance 2', N.W.A. join with L.A. legend Arabian Prince for a throwback electro dance number that samples the beat from Sly and the Family Stone's 'Dance to the Music' as well as 'You're the One for Me' by D-Train.

Following 'Straight Outta Compton', Ice Cube left the group over money disputes. In 1990, Ice Cube released his solo debut album 'AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted' while N.W.A. followed with the '100 Miles and Runnin'' EP and 1991's 'Efil4zaggin' before dissolving entirely. In 1992, Dr. Dre found success on his own with his breakthrough debut album 'The Chronic'. Eazy-E would only release 2 EPs before his untimely death in 1995.

The Lowdown:
N.W.A. 'I Ain't the 1', 'Dopeman' (Remix), 'Quiet on tha Set', and 'Something 2 Dance 2'
from 'Straight Outta Compton' (1988) (MP3/CD)
Brass Construction 'The Message (Inspiration)'
from 'Brass Construction II' (1976) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Herman Kelly and Life 'Dance to the Drummer's Beat'
from 'Percussion Explosion' (1978) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
George McCrae 'I Get Lifted'
from 'Rock Your Baby' (1974) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
The Blackbyrds 'Rock Creek Park'
from 'City Life' (1975) (MP3/CD)
Sly and the Family Stone 'Dance to the Music'
from 'Dance to the Music' (1968) (MP3/CD)
D-Train 'You're the One for Me'
from 'You're the One for Me' (1982) (MP3 not available/Import CD)

Related Posts:
Rewind: Ice Cube 'AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted' (Part 1)
Rewind: Ice Cube 'AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted' (Part 2)
Rewind: Ice Cube 'AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted' (Part 3)
Rewind: Dr. Dre 'The Chronic' (Part 1)
Rewind: Dr. Dre 'The Chronic' (Part 2)
The Breaks: Sly and the Family Stone 'Dance to the Music'
Five On It: April 2009's Essentials (Blackbyrds appearance)

Rewind: Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth 'The Main Ingredient' (Part 2)

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

What is a hip-hop classic without a James Brown beat? Pete Rock samples James Brown's 'Escape-ism' (as well as Ramsey Lewis' 'Sun Goddess' from Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth's track 'Escapism'. On 'Escape''s outro, Rock samples the Pointer Sisters' killer take on 'Yes We Can Can', originally a Lee Dorsey cut written by Allen Toussaint. On 'The Main Ingredient''s title track, Pete Rock samples 'Psychadelic Shack' by Albino Gorilla, 'Submission' by Tyrone Washington, and Les McCann's 'Harlem Buck Dance Strut' from his 1973 album 'Layers'. 'All the Places' samples two more J.B. cuts: 'Mind Power' and 'Take Some - Leave Some', both from James Brown's 1974 album 'The Payback', as well as the title track from Donald Byrd's 1975 album 'Places and Spaces' produced by Fonce and Larry Mizell. On 'Tell Me', Pete Rock samples the drums from the Detroit Emeralds' breakbeat cut 'You're Getting a Little Too Smart', J.B.'s 'Funky President (People It's Bad)' and 'Don't Tell It', and Stan Getz's 'Keep Dreamin'' from 1977's 'Another World'. During the outro, Pete Rock plays a bit of 'On the Hill' by Oliver Sain. 'Take You There' features samples from Joe Farrell's 'Upon This Rock', the Black Heat cut 'Zimba Ku' from 'Keep on Runnin', and 'Risin' to the Top' from Ken Burke's 'Changes'. Pete Rock samples one of rock's major breakbeats on the outro: Mountain's live version of 'Long Red' from 1972's full length 'Mountain Live'.

Check back for the final part of our look at Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth's 'The Main Ingredient'.

The Lowdown:
Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth 'Escapism', 'The Main Ingredient', 'All the Places', 'Tell Me', and 'Take You There'
from 'The Main Ingredient' (1994) (MP3/CD)
James Brown 'Escape-ism'
from 'Hot Pants' (1971) (MP3/CD not available)
Ramsey Lewis 'Sun Goddess'
from 'Sun Goddess' (1974) (MP3/CD)
The Pointer Sisters 'Yes We Can Can'
from 'The Pointer Sisters' (1972) (MP3/CD)
Albino Gorilla 'Psychadelic Shack'
from 'Detroit 1984' (1970) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Tyrone Washington 'Submission'
'Roots' (1971) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Les McCann 'Harlem Buck Dance Strut'
from 'Layers' (1973) (MP3/CD)
James Brown 'Mind Power' (edit) and 'Take Some - Leave Some'
from 'The Payback' (1974) (MP3/CD)
Donald Byrd 'Places and Spaces'
from 'Places and Spaces' (1976) (MP3/CD)
The Detroit Emeralds 'You're Getting a Little Too Smart'
from 'Detroit Emeralds' (1973) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
James Brown 'Funky President (People It's Bad)'
from 'Reality' (1975) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
James Brown 'Don't Tell It'
from 'Bodyheat' (1976) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Stan Getz 'Keep Dreamin''
from 'Another World' (1977) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Oliver Sain 'On the Hill'
from 'The Main Man' (1972) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Joe Farrell 'Upon This Rock'
from 'Upon This Rock' (1974) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Black Heat 'Zimba Ku'
from 'Keep on Runnin'' (1975) (MP3/CD)
Keni Burke 'Risin' to the Top'
from 'Changes' (1982) (MP3/Import CD)
Mountain 'Long Red'
from 'Mountain Live' (1972) (MP3 not available/CD)

Related Posts:
Producer Profile: Pete Rock (Part 1, 1991-1993)
Producer Profile: Pete Rock (Part 2, 1994)

Rewind: Jay Dee 'Welcome 2 Detroit'

We've covered a lot of material by the late great J Dilla on this blog, but every one of his releases are essential in their own way and I'll be damned if he doesn't dig deep for some of the craziest songs to sample. This post will cover the source material from Dilla's first solo outing, 2001's 'Welcome 2 Detroit' on BBE, as Jay Dee.

The album's intro track takes a sample from 'Sunset in Golden Horn' from Turkish band Les Mogul's 1971 album 'Danses et Rhythmes de la Turquie'. See what I'm saying? With assistance on the bass from Dwele, Jay Dee delivers an impressive version of 'Think Twice'. The original 'Think Twice' appeared on Donald Byrd's highly sought after 1974 album 'Stepping into Tomorrow' produced by Mizell brother Larry Mizell. 'Beej-N-Dem (Part 2)' features a sample of the Beach Boys' later career album cut 'Feel Flows' from their 1971 album 'Surf's Up' as well as drums from Billy Garner's absolutely sample laden cut 'I Got Some'. Look below for more on 'I Got Some'. 'Featuring Phat Kat', as one would assume, features Phat Kat from Slum Village. Jay Dee pulls Steve Howe's 'Beginnings' out of the crate for the track 'Will O' The Wisp' for 'Featuring Phat Kat''s beat. On the album's final track, 'One', Dilla samples the Ohio Players' controversial (due to the cover imagery) 1971 album 'Pain''s title track. 'Pain' is a highly sampled track and is on the short list for this month's Five On It.

Though Jay Dee had many high profile production credits, many previously reviewed on this blog, it would be another two years before he'd release another solo effort: 2003's 'Ruff Draft' EP which has recently been expanded and re-released.

The Lowdown:
Jay Dee 'Intro', 'Think Twice', 'Beej-N-Dem (Part 2)', 'Featuring Phat Kat', and 'One'
from 'Welcome 2 Detroit' (2001) (MP3/CD)
Les Mogul 'Sunset in Golden Horn'
from 'Danses et Rhythmes de la Turquie' (1971) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Donald Byrd 'Think Twice'
from 'Stepping into Tomorrow' (1974) (MP3/CD)
The Beach Boys 'Feel Flows'
from 'Surf's Up' (1971) (MP3/CD)
Billy Garner 'I Got Some'
from 'I Got Some' 7" (1971) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Steve Howe 'Will O' The Wisp'
from 'Beginnings' (1975) (MP3 not available/CD)
The Ohio Players 'Pain'
from 'Pain' (1971) (MP3/CD)

Bonus Cuts:
Why aren't more people messing with the drums from Billy Garner's 'I Got Some'? It might be because the track was so fluidly flipped by DJ Premier for Gang Starr's memorable B-side 'B.Y.S.'. It's kind of hard to follow that one up, but beat makers shouldn't fear falling short of Primo. One more bonus: 'I Got Some' (Part 2).

Related Posts:
Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 4, 2000)
Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 5, 2001-2003)

Five On It: April 2009's Essentials

Welcome to the latest installment of Five On It, where we look at the best breaks of the month. There was a lot to choose from since April was full of great albums, so these five are all sureshots.

Unbelievably, this track has not gained Five On It status, but Isaac Hayes' 'The Look of Love' is both a soul classic and a hip-hop necessity. It was one of the sources from our review of Mary J. Blige's 'My Life', but it is also the basis for many other notable hip-hop tracks. This blog's review of Massive Attack's 'Blue Lines' yielded three of our breaks of the month: 'Sneakin' in the Back' by Tom Scott and the L.A. Express, the Donald Byrd produced 'Rock Creek Park' by the Blackbyrds, and the opening break of 'I'm Glad You're Mine' by Al Green. On our review of DOOM's 'Born Like This', MF Doom sampled Galt MacDermot's 'Princess Gika'. Look below for some more on MacDermot and the artists that have sampled him.

The Lowdown:
Isaac Hayes 'The Look of Love' (Radio Edit)
from '...To Be Continued' (1969) (MP3/CD)
Tom Scott and the L.A. Express 'Sneakin' in the Back'
from 'Tom Scott and the L.A. Express' (1973) (MP3/CD not available)
The Blackbyrds 'Rock Creek Park'
from 'City Life' (1975) (MP3/CD)
Al Green 'I'm Glad You're Mine'
from 'I'm Still in Love with You' (1972) (MP3/CD)
Galt MacDermot 'Princess Gika'
from 'Woman is Sweeter' (1969) (MP3/CD not available)

Bonus Cuts:
Galt MacDermot's 'Woman is Sweeter' is a highly sought after crate digger pick (and available from Amazon in MP3 format - score) and the source for some of hip-hop's finest. Rashad Smith sampled MacDermot's 'Space' for Busta Rhymes' breakout single 'Woo-Hah! Got You All in Check' from 1996. MF Doom also sampled 'Space' for his Metal Fingers track 'Cinquefoil'.

Rewind: Massive Attack 'Blue Lines' (Part 1)

Following success with the Wild Bunch, the members of Massive Attack released one of the then-unnamed genre of trip-hop's defining albums: 1991's 'Blue Lines'. Like its hip-hop predecessors, 'Blue Lines' contains more than its fair share of sampled breaks. This two part look at 'Blue Lines' will cover Massive Attack's sample sources.

The album's opening track and highest charting single is the hypnotic 'Safe from Harm'. The track samples its bassline from Billy Cobham's 1973 song 'Stratus' from the album 'Spectrum' as well as drum fills from Funkadelic's 'Good Ole Music'. The title track 'Blue Lines' samples Tom Scott and L.A. Express' necessary breakbeat 'Sneakin' In the Back' and the Donald Byrd produced b-boy classic 'Rock Creek Park' from the Blackbyrds' 1975 album 'City Life'. Massive Attack do a cover of William DeVaughn's 'Be Thankful for What You Got' on their similarly titled 'Be Thankful for What You've Got'. The group use another classic break on 'Five Man Army': Al Green's slo-mo intro drum fill on 'I'm Glad You're Mine' from his legendary album 'I'm Still in Love with You'.

Check back for part 2 of our look at 'Blue Lines'.

The Lowdown:
Massive Attack 'Safe from Harm', 'Blue Lines', 'Be Thankful for What You've Got', and 'Five Man Army'
from 'Blue Lines' (1991) (MP3/CD)
Billy Cobham 'Stratus'
from 'Spectrum' (1973) (MP3/CD)
Funkadelic 'Good Ole Music'
from 'Funkadelic' (1970) (MP3 not available/CD)
Tom Scott and the L.A. Express 'Sneakin' in the Back'
from 'Tom Scott and the L.A. Express' (1973) (MP3/CD not available)
The Blackbyrds 'Rock Creek Park'
from 'City Life' (1975) (MP3/CD)
William DeVaughn 'Be Thankful for What You Got'
from 'Be Thankful for What You Got' (1974) (MP3 not available/CD)
Al Green 'I'm Glad You're Mine'
from 'I'm Still in Love with You' (1972) (MP3/CD)

Bonus Cuts:
The title track from 'Blue Lines' was sampled on Barry Adamson's 'Something Wicked This Way Comes' released only a few years after Massive Attack's album. The song is notable for its use in David Lynch's film 'Lost Highway'.

Related Posts:
Source Material: Marvin Gaye 'I Want You' (Massive Attack appearance)

Five On It: February 2009's Essentials

Thanks for tuning into our look back at the breaks of the month, this month we'll be covering the hottest samples mentioned during the month of February.

This months bangers starts with Cerrone's 'Rocket in the Pocket' (more on 'Rocket' is below) from this blog's review of 'Special Herbs vol. 1 and 2' by Metal Fingers'. On the first post of our review of 'College Dropout' by Kanye West, we mentioned the dreamy soul single 'Distant Lover' from Marvin Gaye's classic album 'Let's Get it On'. The Larry Mizell produced 'Think Twice' by Donald Byrd was one of the samples used by Dilla on our fifth look of J Dilla's producer profile. Primo, on our look at Premier's production discography used the godfather of soul James Brown's 'Get on the Good Foot'. Finally, one of the samples used on Mos Def's 'Black on Both Sides' is Roy Ayers' solid break 'We Live in Brooklyn, Baby' with Ubiquity.

Keep it locked here, there are tons of great breaks this coming month.

The Lowdown:
Cerrone 'Rocket in the Pocket'
from 'Cerrone IV - The Golden Touch' (1978) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
Marvin Gaye 'Distant Lover'
from 'Let's Get It On' (1973) (MP3/CD)
Donald Byrd 'Think Twice'
from 'Stepping Into Tomorrow' (1974) (MP3/CD)
James Brown 'Get on the Good Foot'
from 'Get on the Good Foot' (1972) (MP3/CD not available)
Roy Ayers Ubiquity 'We Live in Brooklyn, Baby'
from 'He's Coming' (1972) (MP3 not available/CD not available)

Bonus Cuts:
'Rocket in the Pocket' is a classic break used by old school DJs and breakers and was an essential sample used by hip-hop's pioneers. Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin are credited as the producers of 'Raising Hell' and 'Hit It Run' by Run DMC. Dr. Dre and DJ Yella used the break for Eazy-E's 'Radio'. Finally, the King of Chill used the break for MC Lyte's 'Cha Cha Cha'.

Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 5, 2001-2003)

Welcome to our fifth look at the production career of the legendary, late J Dilla. It has only been three years since his untimely death, but his influence is felt more than perhaps any other time in history. Before I start with the post, I wanted to link up Stones Throw's Rase It Up for Ma Dukes! crossover campaign with Parra with proceeds going to Dilla's mother Maureen Yancey.

2001 saw the release of Dilla's first solo album, 'Welcome to Detroit' as Jay Dee on the excellent UK label BBE. The album's single 'Pause' with vocals by Frank-N-Dank uses a sample from Donald Byrd's 1974 album 'Stepping into Tomorrow' (produced by Larry Mizell) with the track 'Think Twice'. In 2002, Dilla and the other members of the Soulquarians appeared on the ambitious, yet ultimately critically ignored, album 'Electric Cricus' by Common. Two noteworthy non-singles from the album are the Dilla, James Poyser, and ?usetlove produced cuts 'New Wave' and 'Star 69 (PS with Love). 'New Wave' features guest vocals from Stereolab singer Laetitia Sadier (Stereolab was mentioned in Part 4 of our look at Dilla's production output) while 'Star 69' features vocals from fellow Soulquarian Bilal and Prince (yes, that Prince).

In 2003, Dilla's 'Ruff Draft' EP was released by the German label Groove Attack (the EP was later expanded and reissued by Stones Throw). One of the album's standout tracks is 'Wild', which samples 'Cum On Feel the Noize' by classic rock act Slade. Also in 2003, J Dilla and Madlib's project Jaylib saw the light of day with the supergroup's lone album 'Champion Sound'. 'Champion Sound''s single 'The Red' touts beats by Dilla and lyrics by Madlib and utilizes a sample of 'Shine On Straight Arrow' from Cris Williamson's self titled album from 1970.

Check back to this blog for our sixth look at Dilla's career, covering the years 2004 and 2005.

The Lowdown:
Jay Dee 'Pause'
from 'Welcome to Detroit' (2001) (MP3/CD)
Donald Byrd 'Think Twice'
from 'Stepping Into Tomorrow' (1974) (MP3/CD)
Common 'New Wave' and 'Star 69 (PS With Love)'
from 'Electric Circus' (2002) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit:'New Wave' and 'Star 69 (PS With Love)'
J Dilla 'Wild'
from 'Ruff Draft' (2003) (MP3/CD)
Slade 'Cum on Feel the Noize'
from 'Sladest' (1972) (MP3/CD not available)
Jaylib 'The Red'
from 'Champion Sound' (2003) (MP3/CD)
Cris Williamson 'Shine On Straight Arrow'
from 'Cris Williamson' (1970) (MP3/CD)

Bonus Cuts:
Reissue instrumental fever: 'Wild' (Instrumental) and 'The Red' (Instrumental)

Releated Posts:
Producer Profile: J Dilla (Part 4, 2000)

Rewind: Del 'I Wish My Brother George Was Here' (Part 2)

Welcome to part 2 of this blog's look at 'I Wish My Brother George Was Here' by Del tha Funkee Homosapien.

On the album track 'Money for Sex', Del's production team uses bits of the James Brown produced 1969 Marva Whitney cut 'It's My Thing' (an answer record to the Isley Brothers' 'It's Your Thing') and Donald Byrd's heavily sampled 'Street Lady' from his 1973 album 'Street Lady'. 'Ahonetwo, Ahonetwo' credits Eddie Harris as a co-writer for the sample from his track 'It's Crazy' from 1968's 'Plug Me In'. It would be impossible to go without mentioning Parliament in any post about this album, the single 'Dr. Bombay' (my personal pick from this album) samples Parliament's 'Rumpofsteelskin' from their album 'Motor Booty Affair'.

Check back for the final part of this three part look at 'I Wish My Brother George Was Here'.

The Lowdown:
Del tha Funkee Homosapien 'Money for Sex', 'Ahonetwo, Ahonetwo', and 'Dr. Bombay'
from 'I Wish My Brother George Was Here' (1991) (MP3/CD)
Marva Whitney 'It's My Thing'
from 'It's My Thing' (1969) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
Donald Byrd 'Street Lady'
from 'Street Lady' (1973) (MP3/CD)
Eddie Harris 'It's Crazy'
from 'Plug Me In' (1968) (MP3/CD)
Parliament 'Rumpofsteelskin'
from 'Motor Booty Affair' (1977) (MP3/CD)

Rewind: Main Source 'Breaking Atoms' (Part 1)

'Breaking Atoms' has all of the ingredients of a modern day myth. It is the debut album of the short-lived rap unit Main Source, highly acclaimed upon release and leading to no less than five singles that went out of print as its stock started to rise. Add Nas (here as Nasty Nas) and early beats by super producer Large Professor to the mix and the interest in one of East Coast hip-hop's mostly widely recognized classics is risen.

One of 'Breaking Atoms'' indisputable classic cuts is the single 'Just Hangin' Out' that cribs samples from Gwen McCrae's '90% of Me Is You', Ike and Tina Turner's 'Bold Soul Sister', and most famously 'Bam Bam' by Sister Nancy (which was covered extensively in a past post on this blog). 'Looking at the Front Door' is the album's first and highest charting single, reaching #1 on the Billboard rap charts. 'Front Door' features, among other samples, bits of 'Think Twice' from Donald Byrd's 1975 album 'Stepping into Tomorrow' produced by Larry Mizell. Main Source's album cut 'Scratch and Kut' has the notable drum break from Kool and the Gang's live version of 'N.T.' from their album 'Live at P.J.'s' (the 'N.T.' drum break is a cornerstone of Large Pro's sound).

Check back for part 2 of 'Breaking Atoms', which will include the track that broke Nas to the rap world.

The Lowdown:
Main Source 'Just Hangin' Out', 'Looking at the Front Door', and 'Scratch and Kut'
from 'Breaking Atoms' (1990) (MP3/CD)
Gwen McCrae '90% of Me Is You'
from 'Rockin' Chair' (1975) (MP3 not available/CD)
Ike and Tina Turner 'Bold Soul Sister'
from 'Hunter' (1969) (MP3 not available/CD)
Sister Nancy 'Bam Bam'
from 'One, Two' (1982) (MP3/CD not available)
Donald Byrd 'Think Twice'
from 'Stepping into Tomorrow' (1975) (MP3/CD)
Kool and the Gang 'N.T.'
from 'Live at P.J.'s' (1972) (MP3/CD not available)