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)

The Breaks: Manu Dibango 'Soul Makossa'

For the first in a series of posts related to classic hip-hop breaks and drum samples, I chose a rather overlooked break: 'Soul Makossa' by Manu Dibango. I've been on a heavy afrobeat kick in the past few weeks and this one is very recognizable, even among average music fans. There are numerous covers, from the funk heat of Afrique to the Arthur Baker produced electro b-boy cover by Nairobi and the Awesome Foursome. One of the best covers of 'Soul Makossa' is by Lafayette Afro Rock Band from their album titled 'Soul Makossa'. Lafayette Afro Rock Band will definitely show up later in my coverage of classic breaks, 'Hihache' is one of the most widely used drum beats in hip-hop and 'Darkest Light' has one of the most widely used saxophone samples.

One artist to sample directly from Manu Dibango's original is Jermaine Dupri on 'Money Ain't a Thang' with Jay-Z; check out the opening drum break of the original and 'Money' side-by-side. Far and away, the most recognized interpolation of the refrain of 'Soul Makossa' is the end chant from 'Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' by Michael Jackson, produced by Quincy Jones. Transitions between 'Soul Makossa' and the end of 'Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'' (or vice versa) are unstoppable floor killers.

The Lowdown:
Manu Dibango 'Soul Makossa'
from 'Soul Makossa'(1972) (MP3 unavailable/CD)
Lafayette Afro Rock Band 'Soul Makossa'
from 'Soul Makossa' (1973) (MP3/CD unavailable)
Jay-Z and Jermaine Dupri 'Money Ain't a Thang'
from 'Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life' (1998) (MP3/CD)
Michael Jackson 'Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
from 'Thriller' (1982) (MP3/CD)