Oct 17

Oct 17 Weekly Track Roundup 10/17/22: Samplejam

This week, we’re celebrating the art of sampling - a case for art & media to iterate on itself that got lost in a bureaucratic copyright hellscape because it’s not fair use apparently (it is). Each song on this roundup has a sample that our writers love - enjoy!

MF DOOM - “One Beer”

Sample: Cortex - “Huit octobre 1971”

Easily one of my favorite hip-hop beats ever, MF DOOM's "One Beer" makes perfect use of the wailing vocals scattered across Cortex's instrumental. Although all he changed was the tempo of the vocals and adding a drum pattern, this small change gives the whole beat a signature DOOM sound. It's one of MF DOOM's many iconic sampled beats, and I think it deserves all of the hype.

-Emmett Favreau

Yung Gravy - “Gravy Train”

Sample: Maxine Nightingale - “Right Back Where We Started From”

Yung Gravy is known for his clever use of nostalgic sampling and his tour de force anthem "Gravy Train" is no exception. The use of Maxine Nightingale's "Right Back Where We Started From" adds a tight groove for Gravy to slyly riff off. While Nightingale reaffirms the strength of renewal in relationships, Gravy affirms his wide-spread seductions and prowess. Gravy never takes himself too seriously, instead letting his sample breathe. It's an utter joyride to join the Gravy Train.

-Alexandra Taylor

The Pharcyde - “Runnin’”

Sample: Stan Getz & Luis Bonfá - “Saudade Vem Correndo”

I was playing some bossa nova the other week when I accidentally stumbled upon one of the most brilliant samples I've ever heard in hip hop. If you were listening to Stan Getz & Luis Bonfá's "Saudade Vem Correndo" unaware of context, you might hear the four-second descending melodic passage at 2:04 and not even give it a second thought - but if you've heard "Runnin'" by the Pharcyde before, that passage immediately lights up your brain like you're a sleeper agent hearing your secret code word for the first time. Amazingly, producer J Dilla had the intuition to take those four seconds and create an entire 5-minute beat out of it for "Runnin'", transforming the sample from a passing musical moment into the heart of what would become one of the most remembered hip hop songs of the 90s.

-Nathan Hausspiegel

Lana Del Rey - “Wild at Heart”

Sample: Lana Del Rey - “How to disappear”

I think it's pretty iconic to sample your own music - and just the kind of iconic thing that Lana Del Rey would do. In the chorus of "Wild at Heart" (from Chemtrails Over the Country Club), the music playing underneath Del Rey's vocals is the same music that plays after the second verse of her song "How to disappear" (off her previous album, Norman Fucking Rockwell!). I think that, in addition to the sample being (in my opinion) inherently funny because it is a sample of her own song, it actually really works in "Wild at Heart" because it helps to transition the song out of its floaty, dreamy pre-chorus into its more immediate, focused chorus by instituting an obvious rhythm that the listener can easily grab onto. The sample is also ironic in that, over it, Del Rey sings about leaving LA and her fame behind to live with her lover somewhere where she's "not a star," but, at the same time, she's sampling a song off her most critically-acclaimed album.

-Maisie Wrubel

Maxo Kream - “Go” (feat. D Flowers)

Sample: Bob James - “Nautilus”

This song by Maxo is one of his best. The beat is super well done and the chorus and the featured verse have both of them showcasing their clean rapping skills. The sample, which I somehow didn’t catch, is one of the most classic hip-hop samples (it’s at almost 400 listed samples on WhoSampled) and the track itself is a classic. Mitch Mula and Drumline expertly take a short loop from “Nautilus” and add drums to make it a great trap beat. Another thing I find amazing about this is just how many different ways this track has been sampled and yet they both manage to take a unique spin, even though that exact portion of the song has been sampled probably over 100 times.

-Lily Lazar

KAYTRANADA & Kali Uchis - “10%”

Sample: First Choice - “Love Thang”

The sample itself may appear to be drag-and-dropped straight from one song to the other, but it's the history that makes this sample so great for me. Now synonymous with "Old Way" vogue, KAYTRANADA masterfully incorporates "Love Thang" into the Grammy-winning single. And while "10%" isn't necessarily the most vogue-conducive track, its historical drum beat is certain to get anyone going.

-Nolan Lewis

Clams Casino & Imogen Heap - “I'm God”

Sample: Imogen Heap - “Just For Now”

Clams Casino reworked Imogen Heap’s “Just For Now” into one of the most ethereal and soul-stirring tracks of this millennium. This instrumental was originally a beat for a Lil B song of the same name, but it’s just as enjoyable, if not more enjoyable, without his vocals.

-Oscar Tirabassi

Radiohead - “Idioteque”

Sample: Paul Lansky - “Mild Und Leise”

This is such an obscure thing to sample, and in the context of the song it doesn't even really sound like anything's being sampled at all.

-Elijah Davis

The Orb - “Little Fluffy Clouds”

Sample: Steve Reich & Pat Metheny - “Electric Counterpoint: III. Fast”

It feels silly to pick the Orb's most popular song when they have ~143 albums and even longer singles, but the Electric Counterpoint sample on "Little Fluffy Clouds" works so well. Pat Metheny plays the sampled bit at the end of Counterpoint, and it does feel like a gentle nudge towards the door in 3/4, but the Orb re-contextualizes the sample by adding a beat and using its lilting textures to say "ooh space is cool" which is basically their entire catalogue but whatever this song is still so good 30 years later

-Max Levin

Kendrick Lamar - “Money Trees” (feat. Jay Rock)

Sample: Beach House - “Silver Soul”

This is such an iconic sample!! I love how “Silver Soul” is warped to fit the vibe of “Money Trees” but still retains its original essence. “Money Trees” also samples vocals from Kendrick's "Cartoon and Cereal" and interpolates lyrics from E-40's "Big Ballin' With My Homies."

-Nicole Motherway