Five On It: March 2009's Essentials

Welcome to March's Five On It: the top five breaks we mentioned over the last month for your downloading ease.

On our review of Scarface's debut album 'Mr. Scarface is Back', we mentioned the rarer break 'Sexy Coffee Pot' by Tony Alvon and the Belairs. Check out the breakdown two-thirds of the way into this one - it's a breakbeat bonanza for producers. In our first look at Madlib and MF Doom's 'Madvillainy', the Dramatics slo-mo 'In the Rain' from 'Whatcha See is Whatcha Get' was mentioned - a classic Volt/Stax side. In the second part of our look at 'Madvillainy' we mentioned 'PSK (What Does It Mean)' by Schoolly D. 'PSK' is the first classic hip-hop break to make it to the Five On It list, but its echoey drum machine boom bap is necessary for producers and DJs. During our exhaustive look at 'I Want You' by Marvin Gaye, we mentioned the often sampled single 'After the Dance'. Finally, during our look at the Wu's debut album 'Enter the Wu-Tang', we mentioned the essential breakbeat 'I Got the (Blues)' by Labi Siffre. Check out our bustling bonus cuts section below for more uses of 'I Got the (Blues)'.

The Lowdown:
Tony Alvon and the Belairs 'Sexy Coffee Pot'
from 'Boom-Boom-Boom' 7" (1969) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
The Dramatics "In the Rain'
from 'Whatcha See is Whatcha Get' (1971) (MP3/CD)
Schoolly D 'PSK (What Does It Mean)'
from 'Schoolly-D' (1985) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Marvin Gaye 'After the Dance'
from 'I Want You' (1976) (MP3/CD)
Labi Siffre 'I Got the (Blues)'
from 'Remember My Song' (1975) (MP3/Import CD)

Bonus Cuts:
'I Got the (Blues)' is probably best known for its use (let's be real... its unadorned loop) on Eminem's 'My Name Is' produced by Dr. Dre, but it's been used plenty of times before and after. Two years before Eminem, Ski used the beat for Jay-Z 'Streets is Watching' which, of course, spawned the independent movie of the same name (bringing "f--- out of here" to the mouths of every rap fan within a 300 mile radius of Brooklyn). In 1998, Erick Sermon sampled 'I Got the (Blues)' for the Def Squad's 'Countdown'. In 1999, the beat was used by the Beatnuts for the Violator compilation track 'Beatnuts Forever' and Irv Gotti and Lil' Rob for Foxy Brown's 'Hot Spot'.

Rewind: Madvillain 'Madvillainy' (Part 1)

In 2004, Madlib and MF Doom's two year project 'Madvillainy' was released on the indie hip-hop label Stones Throw. The album was mostly produced by Madlib (excluding one track) and features mostly MF Doom on vocals. In this two part arc, we will cover Madlib's deep crate breaks used for the tracks in 'Madvillainy'.

The opening track titled 'The Illest Villains' samples 'Beach Trip' by Morton Stevens and His Orchestra from the soundtrack to the television show 'Hawaii Five-O' in addition to the classic b-boy break 'Jam on the Groove' by Ralph MacDonald. 'Accordian' samples fellow blunted hip-hop SoCal artist Daedelus by using elements from the track 'Experience' from his 2002 album 'Invention'. Madlib flips the often used 'I Keep Forgettin'' by Michael McDonald on the Madvillain track 'Bistro', which also features a sample of 'Second to None' by Atlantic Starr. For the boastfully titled 'America's Most Blunted', MF Doom, Madlib and Quasimoto rhyme over a melange of Fever Tree's psych-rock song 'Ninety Nine and a Half (Won't Do)' and the Dramatics' 'In the Rain'. On 'Rainbows', Madlib samples two tracks from exploitation director Russ Meyer's 60s movies. The track samples 'Psycho Brahmin' from 1965's 'Motor Psycho' and 'Kelly' from 1968's 'Finders Keepers Lovers Weepers'.

Check back for part 2 of our look at 'Madvillainy'.

The Lowdown:
Madvillain 'The Illest Villains', 'Accordian', 'Bistro', 'America's Most Blunted', and 'Rainbows'
from 'Madvillainy' (2004) (MP3/CD)
Morton Stevens and His Orchestra 'Beach Trip'
from 'Hawaii Five-O' (1970) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Ralph MacDonald 'Jam on the Groove'
from 'Jam on the Groove' 12" (1977) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Daedelus 'Experience'
from 'Invention' (2002) (MP3/CD not available)
Michael McDonald 'I Keep Forgettin''
from 'If That's What it Takes' (1981) (MP3/CD)
Atlantic Starr 'Second to None'
from 'Yours Forever' (1983) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Fever Tree 'Ninety Nine and a Half (Won't Do)'
from 'Fever Tree' (1968) (MP3 not available/CD)
The Dramatics 'In the Rain'
from 'Whatcha See in Whatcha Get' (1971) (MP3/CD)
Paul Sawtell and Bert Shefter 'Psycho Brahmin'
from 'Motor Psycho' (1965) (MP3 not available/CD)
Marvin Elling, William Loose, and Stu Phillips 'Kelly'
from 'Finders Keepers Lovers Weepers' (1968) (MP3 not available/CD)

Related Posts:
Rewind: Quasimoto 'The Unseen' (Part 1)
Rewind: Quasimoto 'The Unseen' (Part 2)
Rewind: Quasimoto 'The Unseen' (Part 3)

Rewind: Spice 1 'Spice 1'

1992's 'Spice 1' is the proper debut album from Bay Area rapper Spice 1 if one excludes the independent release 'Let it Be Known' from a year previous. The controversial, gritty lyrics of 'Spice 1' are matched perfectly with the production of Ant Banks throughout the album. This post will cover the sample basis of this album.

The album opener 'In My Neighborhood' samples the 1977 George Duke song 'Reach for it' from his album of the same title. 'Peace to My Nine' is injected with a bit of G-funk via Funkadelic's 'One Nation Under a Groove'. Ant Banks samples two legends on 'Money of Murder': Isaac Hayes' post-'Shaft' single 'Joy' and Curtis Mayfield's 'Sweet Exorcist'-era album cut 'Make Me Believe in You'. Finally, Spice 1's nightmarish 'City Streets' makes use of the title track from the Dramatics' 1971 Stax/Volt album 'Whatcha See is Whatcha Get', one of my personal favorite soul singles of all time (why aren't more people using this one?).

Spice 1 would go on to release six albums on a major label through the rest of the 90s and early 00s and has released many more albums via independent labels since.

The Lowdown:
Spice 1 'In My Neighborhood', 'Peace to My Nine', 'Money or Murder', and 'City Streets'
from 'Spice 1' (1992) (MP3/CD)
George Duke 'Reach for it'
from 'Reach for it' (1977) (MP3/Import CD)
Funkadelic 'One Nation Under a Groove'
from 'One Nation Under a Groove' (1978) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Isaac Hayes 'Joy'
from 'Joy' (1973) (MP3/CD)
Curtis Mayfield 'Make Me Believe in You'
from 'Sweet Exorcist' (1974) (MP3/CD)
The Dramatics 'Whatcha See is Whatcha Get'
from 'Whatcha See is Whatcha Get' (1971) (MP3/CD)

Rewind: Notorious B.I.G. 'Life After Death' (Part 1)

It's hard to believe, but the Notorious B.I.G. released only one solo album during his lifetime, 1994's 'Ready to Die' (previously covered in depth on this blog here, here, and here). Biggie's follow up album was finished before his untimely murder in 1997 - his second, prophetically named studio album 'Life After Death' was released less than a month after his death. This three part post arc will cover the music of 'Life After Death', the producers, and the sample sources.

The Dramatics' excellent single 'In the Rain' is the basis for the Carlos Broady, Nashiem Myrick, and Puff Daddy produced album track 'Somebody's Gotta Die'. The album's smash hit is the unstoppable 'Hypnotize'; a decade later it is still nitro on the dancefloor. The production team of D-Dot, Ron Lawrence, Puffy and the Hitmen sampled the breakdown of Herb Alpert's 'Rise' and heavily interpolates the lyrics from Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh's 'La Di Da Di'. One of my favorite Biggie cuts is the DJ Premier produced B-side 'Kick in the Door' that makes remarkable use of Screamin' Jay Hawkins' 1950s voodoo freakout 'I Put a Spell on You'. Truly awesome work by Primo. Easy Mo Bee, returning from his work on 'Ready to Die', laces B.I.G. with the beat to 'I Love the Dough'. The track features a guest spot from Jay-Z and Angela Winbush from René and Angela on the hook, who happens to be the source of the track's sample: 'I Love You More' by René and Angela.

Check back for part 2 of our look at 'Life After Death'.

The Lowdown:
The Notorious B.I.G. 'Somebody's Gotta Die', 'Hypnotize', 'Kick in the Door', and 'I Love the Dough'
from 'Life After Death' (1997) (MP3/CD)
The Dramatics 'In the Rain'
from 'Whatcha See is Whatcha Get' (1971) (MP3/CD)
Herb Alpert 'Rise'
from 'Rise' (1979) (MP3/CD)
Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh 'La Di Da Di'
from 'The Show' (1985) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Screamin' Jay Hawkins 'I Put a Spell on You'
from 'I Put a Spell on You' (1956) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
René and Angela 'I Love you More'
from 'Wall to Wall' (1981) (MP3 not available/CD not available)

BONUS CUTS:
'I Put a Spell on You' is a classic cut and has been covered (not to mention sampled) many times. Two notable covers of the song are Nina Simone's take on 'I Put a Spell on You' from 1964 and Creedence Clearwater Revival's cover from 1968.

Rewind: Jay-Z 'American Gangster' (Part 2)

Welcome to part 2 of our look at the samples used in the making of 'American Gangster'.

Dirty south extraordinaire DJ Toomp lends his production skills for Jay-Z's 'Say Hello', using samples of Tom Brock's 'The Love We Share is the Greatest of Them All' from 1974's 'I Love You More and More'. Chicago's No I.D. (producer for Common and ghost producer for Jermaine Dupri) works alongside Jermaine Dupri on the beat for Jay-Z's 'Success', which samples an rare funk track called 'Funky Thing' (Part 1) by Larry Ellis and the Black Hammer. Dupri and No I.D. sample the Dramatics' 'Fell for You' from 1972's 'A Dramatic Experience' for the 'American Gangster' album track 'Fallin''. The album's first and most successful single (which, still, failed to break the through the top 50 on the Billboard singles chart) is the Neptunes produced 'Blue Magic', which samples En Vogue's 1990 hit single 'Hold On'. Just Blaze closes the album with the album's title track, sampling 'Short Eyes' by Curtis Mayfield from the soundtrack to the movie 'Short Eyes'.

'American Gangster' was highly acclaimed upon its release, especially compared to Jay-Z's shrugworthy return from retirement album 'Kingdom Come'. If internet rumors are to be believed, Jay-Z will drop another album before year's end titled 'Blueprint 3', which will undoubtedly be reviewed once it is out.

The Lowdown:
Jay-Z 'Say Hello', 'Success', 'Fallin'', 'Blue Magic', and 'American Gangster'
from 'American Gangster' (2007) (MP3/CD)
Tom Brock 'The Love We Share is the Greatest of Them All'
from 'I Love You More and More' (1974) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
Larry Ellis and the Black Hammer 'Funky Thing' (Part 1)
The Dramatics 'Fell for You'
from 'A Dramatic Experience' (1972) (MP3/CD)
En Vogue 'Hold On'
from 'Born to Sing' (1990) (MP3 not available/CD)
Curtis Mayfield 'Short Eyes'
from 'Short Eyes' (1977) (MP3/CD not available)

Rewind: GZA/Genius 'Liquid Swords' (Part 2)

Welcome to the second part of our look at 'Liquid Swords' by GZA/Genius, released on this day in 1995.

'Liquid Swords''s second single was the RZA produced 'Cold World' and features a fantastic use of the Dramatics' ballad 'In the Rain'. The track also samples Stevie Wonder's 'Hotter than July' album cut 'Rocket Love'. GZA's 'Shadowboxin'', the album's final single, samples Ann Peebles' 'Trouble, Heartaches, and Sadness'. A sample of Three Dog Night appears on GZA's 'Investigatve Reports' by way of their 1974 album 'Hard Labor' and the track 'I'd Be So Happy'. The album's closing track and the only track not produced by the RZA (this track was produced by Wu associate 4th Disciple) is 'B.I.B.L.E. (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth)' which samples an early Ohio Players track titled 'Our Love Has Died' on their pre-breakthrough album 'Pleasure'.

'Liquid Swords' has, in time, become a platinum selling album and is often cited as being one of the best hip-hop albums of all time and is the high water mark for albums released by Wu-Tang members.

The Lowdown:
GZA/Genius 'Cold World', 'Shadowboxin'', 'Investigatve Reports', and 'B.I.B.L.E. (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth)'
from 'Liquid Swords' (1995) (MP3/CD)
The Dramatics 'In the Rain'
from 'Whatcha See is Whatcha Get' (1971) (MP3/CD)
Stevie Wonder 'Rocket Love'
from 'Hotter than July' (1980) (MP3/CD)
Ann Peebles 'Trouble, Heartaches, and Sadness'
from 'Straight from the Heart' (1971) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
Three Dog Night 'I'd Be So Happy'
from 'Hard Labor' (1974) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
The Ohio Players 'Out Love Has Died'
from 'Pleasure' (1972) (MP3 not available/CD)

Producer Profile: 9th Wonder (Part 2, 2004-2005)

Following his commercial breakthrough by having a beat placed on Jay-Z's 'The Black Album', 9th Wonder followed with a single for Destiny's Child's final album 'Destiny Fulfilled'. 'Girl' nearly broke the top 20 in the United States and did better overseas. 9th Wonder samples the Dramatics' album track 'Ocean of Thoughts and Dreams' from their late 70s album 'Shake it Well'.

During the same year, Murs and 9th Wonder joint venture 'Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition' was released on Definitive Jux. We'll cover the album in depth in a future post, but for this post we'll cover the A and B side of the lead single 'Bad Man!'. 'Bad Man!''s reggae steez is plucked from the Mighty Diamond's 1986 track 'Illiteracy' from their album 'Reggae Street'. The B-side track '3:16' samples Black Heat's 'Street of Tears' from their self titled album from 1972.

2005 saw the release of Little Brother's ill-fated big label debut with the album 'The Minstrel Show' on Atlantic Records. An example of the excellent production on the album is the track 'Hiding Places' which samples Bobby Womack's 'Jealous Love'. Though praised on its release, it sold poorly and led to rifts within Little Brother. Their following album would contain only one track produced by 9th Wonder and by 2007 would split with Little Brother entirely.

The Lowdown:
Destiny's Child 'Girl'
from 'Destiny Fulfilled' (2004) (MP3/CD)
The Dramatics 'Ocean of Thoughts and Dreams'
from 'Shake It Well' (1977) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Murs 'Bad Man!' and '3:16'
from 'Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition' (2004) (MP3/CD)
The Mighty Diamonds 'Illiteracy'
from 'Reggae Street' (1986) (MP3/CD)
Black Heat 'Street of Tears'
from 'Black Heat' (1972) (MP3/CD not available)
Little Brother 'Hiding Place'
from 'The Minstrel Show' (2005) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit:'Hiding Place'
Bobby Womack 'Jealous Love'
from 'I Don't Know What the World is Coming To' (1975) (MP3/CD)

Rewind: Del 'I Wish My Brother George Was Here' (Part 3)

Welcome to the final post in our look at 'I Wish My Brother George Was Here' by Del tha Funkee Homosapien.

Del's 'Sunny Meadowz' puts two of Parliament's biggest hits in one track. 'Mothership Connection''s 'P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)' and 'Funkentelechy Vs. the Placebo Syndrome''s 'Flashlight' are used on this album track, which also samples another big hit: Hot Chocolate's 'You Sexy Thing'. Imagine clearing that list of samples in this day! 'Hoodz Come in Dozens' samples the Dramatics' 'Get Up and Get Down' (I can't talk enough about how good the album 'Whatcha See is Whatcha Get' is, vastly underrated and full of jams) and the Average White Band's 'Your Love is a Miracle'. Del's 'Same Ol' Thing' puts a grip of Meters 45's into the sampler; the track samples 'Cissy Strut', 'Rigor Mortis', 'Same Old Thing' (of course), and 'Handclapping Song' - all by the Meters. That list is beats for days, any aspiring beat makers need everyone one of their tracks in their arsenal.

Although Del's debut was successful, he felt stifled by the scope of the album and opted to produce his next album, 1993's 'No Need for Alarm', on his own (to date, 'No Need for Alarm' has sold about twice as many copies as 'I Wish My Brother George Was Here').

The Lowdown:
Del tha Funkee Homosapien 'Sunny Meadowz', 'Hoodz Come in Dozens', and 'Same Ol' Thing'
from 'I Wish My Brother George Was Here' (1991) (MP3/CD)
Parliament 'P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)'
from 'Mothership Connection' (1976) (MP3/CD)
Parliament 'Flashlight'
from 'Funkentelechy Vs. the Placebo Syndrome' (1976) (MP3/CD)
Hot Chocolate 'You Sexy Thing'
from 'Hot Chocolate' (1975) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
The Dramatics 'Get Up and Get Down'
from 'Whatcha See is Whatcha Get' (1971) (MP3/CD)
Average White Band 'Your Love is a Miracle'
from 'Warmer Communications' (1978) (MP3/CD)
The Meters 'Cissy Strut'
from 'The Meters' (1969) (MP3/CD)
The Meters 'Rigor Mortis'
from 'Look-Ka Py Py' (1969) (MP3 not available/CD)
The Meters 'Same Old Thing' and 'Handclapping Song'
from 'Struttin'' (1969) (MP3/CD)