The Best Samples in Music

There's always the ignorant few that dismiss sampling as "stealing", adopting phrases along the lines of "Omg that band totally stole that riff, that it totally ridiculous". But sampling successfully is a real skill (slowly glossing past some previous attempts), here are my pick of the best sample in music.

BOUND 2 – KANYE WEST
Although the whole of Kanye West's back catalog would work for this post, Bound 2 is by far my favourite track on the album, opening with the modest piano before the glorious charm of Charlie Wilson, and of course (the highlight of the track) the "Uh-huh, honey" sampled from "Sweet Nothings" by Brenda Lee. Despite Kanye using multiple samples in this track, the obvious stand out is the children’s choir-esque vocals of ‘Bound' by The Ponderosa Twins Plus One providing the glistening gem that features in all of West’s music. This sample is bopping your soldiers whilst frantically tapping away at your laptop finishing your homework on a Sunday evening, it’s take your dog for a walk in the pitch dark and aching to break out into a high school musical shimmy down the road. He embraces his ever so slightly misogynistic signature lyrics, and still manages to be both courteous and putting his laundry first, “I wanna fuck you hard on the sink, After that give you somethin’ to drink, step back can’t get spunk on the mink” (and who the hell is Jerome?).

CAN I KICK IT – A TRIBE CALLED QUEST
Arguably one of the best hip hop groups of the 20^th Century, A Tribe Called Quest managed to encapsulate the warmth and beauty of Lou Reed’s ‘Walkon the Wild Side’, sampling it on their track Can I Kick It. They seamlessly combined it with the grove and rhythm that the band always delivered, with the smooth and flowing sound of Reed’s piece being teamed with the simple yet highly effective beat. In a complete U-turn to Kanye’s choppy and disjointed use of sampling, A Tribe Called Quest blended in ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ to such a degree it sounds as if it were an original element of the song. This track will always remind me of skidding on my kitchen, wearing my bed socks eating a choc-ice; and I’m not entirely sure why.

NEWPRINCE (CROWN ON THE GROUND) - CHILDISH GAMBINO
The slightly more frenzied option on this post, Childish Gambino uses Sleigh Bells’ ‘Crown on the Ground’ to create this loud, bordering on manic and very dance at a house party worthy track. The siren like sound of Sleigh Bells track grant this song an obnoxious and arrogant yet perfect opening, paving the way for Childish Gambino’s (real name Donald Glover) simple yet suave “I do not talk, I am just a rapper” before launching into a mammoth of a song. What’s unusual about this track is that no specific piece of the sampled song is lifted, instead what seems like Childish Gambino pressing play on the YouTube video of Crown on the ground whilst he raps over it. Because of this there are clashes between his and Alexis Krauss’ vocals, resulting in a highly successful and bordering on beautiful track.

PAPER PLANES – M.I.A.
Perhaps the obvious choice when talking about samples used in modern music, M.I.A uses the Clash’s ‘Straight to Hell’ for her most known track, launching her onto endless playlists for parties and being played in Topshop (it’s no surprise the YouTube video has almost 42.5 million views). This track opens with a spirally and glossy sound, reinventing the guitar sounds of The Clash into a far more sleek and modern take - the opening bars of this track are instantly recognisable, even if only yelled by a tipsy 14 year old at a houseparty (“all i wanna do is *gun shot gun shot gun shot gun shot cash register sound*”). The rest of the Clash’s song is ignored, but is also unnecessary, as the few seconds M.I.A does lift are repeated throughout creating the right genre balancing sound that she always toys with, I dare you to find a teenager that hasn't danced profusely to this song – complete with the gun shaped hand gestures – whilst sipping on apple cider.

And the rest:
Kendrick Lamar feat. Dr Dre ~ The Recipe  (sample)
KiD CUDi ~ The Prayer (sample)
Beastie Boys ~ Rhymin and Stealin (sample)
EPMD ~ Strictly Business (sample)
Jay Z and Kanye West ~ Otis (sample)