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Welcome to our second of three looks at Cypress Hill's debut album 'Cypress Hill'.One of the album's biggest singles is 'The Phuncky Feel One', which features samples of Kool and the Gang's 'Give it Up' and 'Life is What You Make It', The Meters' classic 'Look Ka Py Py', James Brown's 'Blues and Pants', Rufus Thomas' essential heavy drums on 'The Breakdown', The J.B.'s 'More Peas' and 'La Di Da Di Day' (both from their unfortunately rare album 'Doing it to Death'), and 'Fight the Power' by the Isley Brothers. A sample clearance nightmare to say the least, but chock full of excellent source material. On Cypress Hill's 'Break it Up', DJ Muggs samples Les McCann and Eddie Harris' 'Compared to What' from their 1968 album 'Swiss Movement'. For 'Real Estate', the crew rhymes over Sly and the Family Stone's 'Underdog', the Bar-Kays' 'Humpin'', Tony Alvon and the Belairs' 'Sexy Coffee Pot', and All the People's excellent 'Cramp Your Style'. On 'Stoned is the Way of the Walk', Cypress Hill rides a sample of Grant Green's 'Down Here on the Ground' from his 1970 album 'Alive!'.
Check back for our final look at 'Cypress Hill'.The Lowdown:
Cypress Hill 'The Phuncky Feel One', 'Break it Up', 'Real Estate', and 'Stoned is the Way of the Walk'
from 'Cypress Hill' (1991) (MP3/CD)
Kool and the Gang 'Give it Up'
from 'Kool and the Gang' (1969) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Kool and the Gang 'Life is What You Make It'
from 'Wild and Peaceful' (1973) (MP3/CD)
The Meters 'Look Ka Py Py'
from 'Look-Ka Py Py' (1970) (MP3 not available/CD)
James Brown 'Blues and Pants'
from 'Hot Pants' (1971) (MP3/CD not available)
Rufus Thomas 'The Breakdown'
from 'Did You Heard Me?' (1972) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
The J.B.'s 'More Peas' and 'La Di Da Di Day'
from 'Doing it to Death' (1973) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
The Isley Brothers 'Fight the Power'
from 'The Heat is On' (1975) (MP3/CD)
Les McCann and Eddie Harris 'Compared to What'
from 'Swiss Movement' (1968) (MP3 not available/CD)
Sly and the Family Stone 'Underdog'
from 'A Whole New Thing' (1967) (MP3/CD)
Bar-Kays 'Humpin''
from 'Gotta Groove' (1969) (MP3/CD)
Tony Alvon and the Belairs 'Sexy Coffee Pot'
'Sexy Coffee Pot' 7" (1969) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
All the People 'Cramp Your Style'
from 'Cramp Your Style' 7" (1972) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Grant Green 'Down Here on the Ground'
from 'Alive!' (1970) (MP3/CD)
Related Posts:
Five On It: March 2009's Essentials ('Sexy Coffee Pot' Appearance)
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Welcome to the second part of our look at Scarface's 1991 debut album 'Mr. Scarface is Back'.
Scarface's 'Diary of a Madman' borrows licks from George Clinton's often sampled 'Atomic Dog'. 'Good Girl Gone Bad' samples more Clinton by way of Funkadelic's 'Good Ole Music' from their 1970 debut album. The track also samples Smokey Robinson and the Miracles' later-career song 'Do Like I Do'. The album's second single, 'A Minute to Pray and a Second to Die', is built on a double shot of Motown classics: 'What's Going On' and 'Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)' both from Marvin Gaye's 1971 magnum opus 'What's Going On'. 'A Minute to Pray...' also samples 'Kissin' My Love' from Bill Withers' hit album 'Still Bill'. The album's final track titled 'I'm Dead' samples its break from the forever funk Meters, using the track 'Thinking' from their 1970 album 'Look-ka Py Py'.
Within two years, 'Mr. Scarface is Back' sold over 500,000 units in the United States and has since been lauded as one of the most important hip-hop albums, not to mention one of the essential releases from Texas' hip-hop scene. In the years after 'Mr. Scarface', his solo career outshined the Geto Boys leading to a series of well recieved albums throughout the 90s and the 00s.The Lowdown:
Scarface 'Diary of a Madman', 'Good Girl Gone Bad', 'A Minute to Pray and a Second to Die', and 'I'm Dead'
from 'Mr. Scarface is Back' (1991) (MP3/CD)
George Clinton 'Atomic Dog'
from 'Computer Games' (1982) (MP3 not available/CD)
Funkadelic 'Good Ole Music'
from 'Funkadelic' (1970) (MP3 not available/CD)
Smokey Robinson and the Miracles 'Do Like I Do'
from 'Smokey's Family Robinson' (1976) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Marvin Gaye 'What's Goin' On?' and 'Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)'
from 'What's Going On' (1971) (MP3/CD)
Bill Withers 'Kissin' My Love'
from 'Still Bill' (1971) (MP3/CD)
The Meters 'Thinking'
from 'Look-ka Py Py' (1970) (MP3 not available/CD)
Related Posts:
Producer Profile: Kanye West (Part 2, 2001-2002) (Scarface Appearance)
Source Material: Marvin Gaye 'Trouble Man'
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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)
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Back once again with Five On It, the last months five most essential beats. This months recap starts off with Otis Redding's 'Hard to Handle' featured in the second half of this blog's post on 'It Was Written' by Nas. 'Hard to Handle' will be covered in depth for a future post in this blog, but it shouldn't keep you from busting it out right now. It's kind of unbelievable to think about it, but it took 20 posts in this blog before the first mention of the Meters. 'Same Old Thing' from 'Struttin'' was one of the many breaks featured on part 1 of Pete Rock's Producer Profile. Without a doubt, many more Meters breaks are to come.
Both 'I Want to Take You Higher' by Sly and the Family Stone and 'Think (About It)' by Lyn Collins were mentioned in the first installment of Dr. Dre's Producer Profile. There is no doubt that even back in the late 80s, Dre could lace a beat. Finally, Kool and the Gang's widely used open drum track on 'N.T.' was mentioned in the first part of this blog's coverage of Main Source's 'Breaking Atoms'. 'N.T.' is one of the building blocks for hip-hop and is a necessity for all beatmakers who want to achieve classic golden age sounding tracks.The Lowdown:
Otis Redding 'Hard to Handle'
from 'The Immortal Otis Redding' (1968) (MP3/CD)
The Meters 'Same Old Thing'
from 'Struttin'' (1969) (MP3/CD)
Sly and the Family Stone 'I Want to Take You Higher'
from 'Stand!' (1969) (MP3/CD)
Lyn Collins 'Think (About It)'
from 'Think (About It)' (1972) (MP3 not available/Import CD)
Kool and the Gang 'N.T.'
from 'Live at P.J.'s' (1971) (MP3/CD not available)
BONUS CUTS:
'I Want to Take You Higher' was a smash hit for Sly and the Family Stone, and like many smash hits in the 70s, it was covered extensively by peers. Kool and the Gang delivered a live version of 'I Want to Take You Higher' on 'Live at the Sex Machine'. Additionally, Ike and Tina Turner deliver a pretty slick version of 'I Want to Take You Higher' as well. Enjoy!
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Main Source's 'Peace is Not the Word to Play' was the fourth single released from the album 'Breaking Atoms', and though it failed to chart, it is still a strong cut (which goes without saying for this album). 'Peace' picks a sample from Miles Davis' 'Right Off' from another classic album, 1970's 'A Tribute to Jack Johnson'. Additional sample sources include MFSB's 'T.L.C. Tender Loving Care' and beats from 'Britches' by the immortal Meters from their heavily sampled album 'Struttin''. 'Vamos a Rapiar', co produced by Pete Rock, plucks a sample from the James Brown produced Myra Barnes cut 'Message from the Soul Sisters'.
One of the most famous posse cuts in hip-hop history is the Large Professor produced 'Live at the Barbeque', which introduces the world to Nasty Nas (later, of course, Nas) and Akinyele (whose career didn't amount to much more than songs about putting things in peoples' mouths... their motherf---ing mouths). The driving beat of 'Live at the Barbeque' is from Bob James' 'Nautilus', the only reason you need to pick up that copy of 'One' from a garage sale.
Unfortunately, 'Breaking Atoms' would be the only album released with it's classic line-up (their second album, 'F--- What You Think', was delayed and finally released in 1994 after the group's second line up had broken up and just before the Wild Pitch label went under). Large Professor would go on to contribute to Nas' debut album 'Illmatic' and would run into his own label problems when his second solo album, 'The LP', was shelved in 1996 (to this day, the album has never officially been released).The Lowdown:
Main Source 'Peace is Not the Word to Play', 'Vamos a Rapiar', and 'Live at the Barbeque'
from 'Breaking Atoms' (1990) (MP3/CD)
Miles Davis 'Right Off'
from 'A Tribute to Jack Johnson' (1970) (MP3/CD)
MFSB 'T.L.C. Tender Loving Care'
from 'Universal Love' (1975) (MP3 unavailable/CD unavailable)
The Meters 'Britches'
from 'Struttin'' (1970) (MP3/CD)
Myra Barnes 'A Message from the Soul Sisters'
Bob James 'Nautilus'
from 'One' (1974) (MP3/CD)
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Like many facets of hip-hop, Pete Rock's history is linked to Jamaica. Peter Phillips is the son of a Jamaican father who DJed in the Bronx. At the age of 17, he caught the ears of producer Marley Marl and at 21, he released the 'All Souled Out' EP with C.L. Smooth. 'The Creator' was covered in a previous post (Rewind: Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth 'The Creator'), so for this post I am going to cover another of 'Souled Out''s many standout tracks: 'Good Life'. 'Good Life', like many of the tracks from Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth's catalog, is dense with soul samples from Pete Rock's deep crates. It's mind boggling to me, but it took 20 posts in this blog to mention the Meters. The Meters track 'Same Old Thing' provides one of this track's samples, along with Eddie Kendrick's 'Girl You Need a Change of Mind' and O'Donel Levy's 'I Wanna Be Where You Are'.
Another big break for Pete Rock came courtesy of his cousin, already established rapper Heavy D, who used some of Rock's beats for his 1991 album 'Peaceful Journey'. Pete Rock's production on the Heavy D and the Boyz posse cut 'Don't Curse', which includes guest spots from an all-star cast of emcees including Big Daddy Kane, Grand Puba, Kool G. Rap, Q-Tip, and C.L. Smooth. 'Don't Curse' draws a sample from 'Hip-Hug-Her' by Booker T and the M.G.'s. The track was a charting hit, but was ultimately overshadowed by the album's much bigger hit 'Now That We Found Love'.
In 1993, Pete Rock contributed to Run D.M.C.'s "gangsta" comeback album 'Down with the King', that may not have been all it was cracked up to be, but showcased some incredible production talent (including tracks by the Bomb Squad, Q-Tip, Jermaine Dupri, and others). 'Down with the King' was the first of three singles released from the album and is THE best late career Run D.M.C. track. 'Down with the King' samples 'Where Do I Go?' by James Rado and Company from the soundtrack to 'Hair'. It might seem like 'Hair' would be an odd place to pick up samples, but a contribution from Galt MacDermot turns up the funk quotient considerably. MacDermot will no doubt be covered in a future post on this blog.
Check back for the next installment on Pete Rock's career, including information on his contributions to 'Illmatic' and 'The Main Ingredient' - two of 1994's most important hip-hop releases.The Lowdown:
Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth 'Good Life'
from 'All Souled Out' (1991) (MP3/CD)
The Meters 'Same Old Thing'
from 'Struttin'' (1969) (MP3/CD)
Eddie Kendricks 'Girl You Need a Change of Mind'
from 'People... Hold On' (1972) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
O'Donel Levy 'I Wanna Be Where You Are'
from 'Dawn of a New Day' (1973) (MP3/CD)
Heavy D and the Boyz 'Don't Curse'
from 'Peaceful Journey' (1991) (MP3/CD not available)
Booker T and the M.G.'s 'Hip-Hug-Her'
from 'Hip-Hug-Her'(1967) (MP3/CD)
Run D.M.C. 'Down with the King'
from 'Down with the King' (1994) (MP3 unavailable/CD unavailable)
James Rado and Company 'Where Do I Go?'
from 'Hair' Soundtrack (1969) (MP3 unavailable/CD)
