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Welcome to part 2 of our look at Snoop Dogg's 'Ego Trippin''.DJ Quik, Tedd Riley, and Scoop DeVille are credited as the producers of 'Ego Trippin''s fifth single 'Those Gurlz', which samples the Bee Gees' 'Too Much Heaven' from 1978's 'Spirits Having Flown'. Snoop's 'One Chance (Make it Good)' utilizes a sample from Prince Phillip Mitchell's similarly titled 'Make it Good'. Hitboy and Polow Da Don use a sample of Mike Oldfield's 'Celtic Rain' for the track 'Why Did You Leave Me'. The album's final track, 'Can't Say Goodbye', produced by Teddy Riley and co-starring Charlie Wilson, samples the 80s pop hit 'The Way It Is' by Bruce Hornsby and the Range.
Check back for more coverage of Snoop, including a full rundown of samples from his debut 'Doggystyle'.
The Lowdown:
Snoop Dogg 'Those Gurlz', 'One Chance (Make it Good)', 'Why Did You Leave Me', and 'Can't Say Goodbye'
from 'Ego Trippin'' (2008) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edits:'Those Gurlz', 'One Chance (Make it Good)', 'Why Did You Leave Me', and 'Can't Say Goodbye'
The Bee Gees 'Too Much Heaven'
from 'Spirits Having Flown' (1978) (MP3/CD)
Prince Phillip Mitchell 'Make it Good'
from 'Make it Good' (1978) (MP3/CD)
Mike Oldfield 'Celtic Rain'
from 'Voyager' (1996) (MP3 not available/CD)
Bruce Hornsby and the Range 'The Way It Is'
from 'The Way It Is' (1986) (MP3/CD)
Bonus Cuts:
Mike Oldfield is probably best known for his work on his debut 1973 album 'Tubular Bells' and the use of the song 'Tubular Bells' in the movie 'the Exorcist'. The song both launched Oldfield's career as well as launched Virgin Records into a telecom giant. In 1997, 'Tubular Bells' was sampled by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (and perhaps other unlisted producers like J Dilla) on the title track to Janet Jackson's album 'The Velvet Rope'.
On March 7th of 2008, Snoop Dogg released his ninth studio album titled 'Ego Trippin'' led by a stylistic (and pitch) shift that threw a lot of hip-hop heads off. Luckily, the entire album isn't autotuned out, this two part post will cover the sample sources of Snoop's 'Ego Trippin''.
The album intro, 'A Word Witchya!' produced by Scoop DeVille samples one of Marvin Gaye's greatest singles: 'Distant Lover' from 1973's 'Let's Get it On'. DJ Quik follows on the beat for 'Press Play' which mines the late 70s Isley Brothers track 'Voyage to Atlantis'. Snoop covers the Time's Morris Day and Prince (as Jamie Starr) produced 1981 single 'Cool' for his own version produced by studio veteran Teddy Riley. Nottz digs deep for the beat for Snoop Dogg's 'Deez Hollywood Nights' by using a sample of the soundtrack title song from the obscure 80s movie 'The Hollywood Knights' by Brooklyn Dreams.
Check back for part 2 of our look at Snoop Dogg's 'Ego Trippin''.The Lowdown:
Snoop Dogg 'A Word Witchya!', 'Press Play', 'Cool', and 'Deez Hollywood Nights'
from 'Ego Trippin'' (2008) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edits: 'A Word Witchya!', 'Press Play', 'Cool', and 'Deez Hollywood Nights'
Marvin Gaye 'Distant Lover'
from 'Let's Get it On' (1973) (MP3/CD)
The Isley Brothers 'Voyage to Atlantis'
from 'Go for Your Guns' (1977) (MP3/CD)
The Time 'Cool'
from 'The Time' (1981) (MP3/CD)
Brooklyn Dreams 'Hollywood Knights'
from 'The Hollywood Knights' (1980) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
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Welcome to our second look at the sample base of Dr. Dre's 1992 classic 'The Chronic'.
The deep album track 'A N---- Witta Gun' takes its famous refrain from the Kay Gees' 'Who's the Man (with the Master Plan)' which has been sampled quite a bit over the years. Additionally, the track samples Johnny Hammond Smith's 'Big Sur Suite' from his 1974 album 'Higher Ground'. One of my favorite non-singles from 'The Chronic' is the bombastic 'Lyrical Gangbang' which speeds up the open drum break from Led Zeppelin's 'When the Levee Breaks' to stunning effect. 'Stranded on Death Row' (notably with Geto Boy Bushwick Bill) samples Isaac Hayes' live version of 'Do Your Thing' from his Stax double album 'Live at the Sahara Tahoe' and also uses B.T. Express' useful 'If it Don't Turn You On (You Ought to Leave it Alone)'. Finally, the closing track 'The Roach' heavily cribs another P-Funk song, this time the single 'P Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)' from Parliament's album 'Mothership Connection'.
Following the run-away success of 'The Chronic', Dre produced the debut album for his protégé Snoop Dogg which was released less than a year after 'The Chronic'. Dre's tenure at Death Row would last less than two more years before he moved on to his own label called Aftermath. In future posts, we will cover 'Doggystyle', more of Dre's production work, and the sample basis for his 1999 sophomore album titled '2001'.The Lowdown:
Dr. Dre 'A N---- Witta Gun', 'Lyrical Gangbang', 'Stranded on Death Row', and 'The Roach '
from 'The Chronic' (1992) (MP3 not available/CD)
The Kay Gees 'Who's the Man (with the Master Plan)'
from 'Keep on Bumpin and Master Plan' (1974) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Johnny Hammond Smith 'Big Sur Suite'
from 'Higher Ground' (1974) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
Led Zeppelin 'When the Levee Breaks'
from 'Led Zeppelin IV' (1971) (MP3/CD)
Isaac Hayes 'Do Your Thing' (Live)
from 'Live at the Sahara Tahoe' (1973) (MP3/CD)
B.T. Express 'If it Don't Turn You On (You Ought to Leave it Alone)'
from 'Do It Till Your Satisfied' (1974) (MP3/CD)
Parliament 'P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)'
from 'Mothership Connection' (1976) (MP3/CD)
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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)
