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 20th 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)
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| Kanye West |
Today's world is one in which arrogance is all around us and can be seen in all walks of life, but none more so than in music. Eminem has proved this lately with a song called 'Rap God' in which he claims he, or at least his music, is immortal, and Kanye has gone one step further by claiming 'I Am A God' and demanding his croissants are brought to him quickly.
It's not only in hip-hop that arrogance is present though; it's a well known fact that the Gallagher brothers love themselves like they love nobody else in the world ("I'm the fucking bollocks" says Noel), and even though they argue against being called arrogant ("We’re not arrogant, we just believe we’re the best band in the world."), they obviously are.
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| The Gallaghers |
There are, of course, many more examples of people with this particular personality trait that dominate the music industry, but is that really a bad thing?
I saw a quote the other day that struck a chord with me: 'It is more socially acceptable to hate yourself than to love yourself.' and why should it be? Shouldn't people who love themselves be inspirational to all those who hate themselves? I think so. And since most young people look up to one musician or another as inspiration, then more of them should love themselves. I know that you probably have friends who hate the way they look, or their personality, and you can clearly see that they're pretty or a wonderful person, and you keep on telling them this, but they just won't listen. You'd obviously prefer it if they just accepted that they're great, wouldn't you? With this in mind, those who love themselves in the music industry should probably get a little less hate. They're brilliant, and they know it. I don't see much of a problem with that, and neither should you. Written by Molly McGrath
