Monthly Archives: November 2011
Hip Hop Samples – The O’ Jay’s “Who Am I”
The sample has always been a part of Hip Hop from the very beginning of the genre. In fact, some of the first tracks recognized to be hip hop tracks were taken from snips of disco, funk, and soul tracks back in the mid to late 1970s.
The O’Jays are one of the most famous and accomplished r&b/soul groups of all time and recently in 2005 were inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Their music has been sampled for many later hip hop and r&b tracks since making most of their hits in the 1970s.
Below is their track “Who Am I” which is one of their most famous songs from the album “Back Stabbers” released in 1972.
Group – The O’Jays
Origin – Canton, Ohio
Song – Who Am I
Album – Back Stabbers
Record Label – Philadelphia International
Release Date – 1972
Below is the track “Your World Don’t Stop” from New York Rapper AZ released from the Album “ Doe or Die” .The sample is used heavily throughout the backdrop of the song and can be recognized especially throughout the opening seconds of the track.
Artist – AZ
Origin – Brooklyn, New York
Song – Your World Don’t Stop
Producer – Spunk Biggs, Ski
Album – Doe or Die
Record Label – EMI
Release Date – 1995
“Nothing can save you,
Even C.O’s try to grave you
It’s painful to even know those that are most faithful, will betray you”
Below is the track “Who Am I” from Hip Hop group The Diplomats. In this track the vocals “Who Am I” are used heavily used from the original O’Jays track.
Group – The Diplomats
Origin – Harlem, New York
Song – Who Am I
Producer – Heatmakerz
Album – Diplomatic Immunity
Record Label – Roc-A-Fella Records
Release Date – 2003
“I need to find another road to follow
One that’s new and strong, not old and hollow”
Below is the track “Little Man” from hip hop group Atmosphere from Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Group – Atmosphere
Origin – Minneapolis, Minnesota
Song – Little Man
Producer – Ant
Album – You Can’t Imagine How Much Fun We’re Having
Record Label – Rhymesayers Entertainment
Release Date – 2005
“Sometimes the weeks fly a little too fast
And sometimes I go to sleep a little too trashed
Other times I’m not sittin’ on enough cash
And other times today feels too much like the past”
Which Track above do you like the best?
Why I Started This Blog
Hip Hop music has always been one of the biggest passions in my life. Listening to it daily and discovering the history of the music has given me an appreciation to this musical art form.
To some, Hip Hop is not an art form at all. In the eyes of those critiques, Hip Hop music is nothing but a way to glorify drugs and violence with messages that put down women. I can agree to those people who have those exact opinions. Much of the music today being displayed on the radio and music stations have explicit themes of sex, drugs, and violence. In many ways, it makes me cringe that how my favorite genre of music is being represented to mainstream media.
With this, there has been much discussion that “Hip Hop is dead” or “Hip Hop is dying”. I can understand where such statements come from. The art form of the music today is not on the same level that they once were in the 80s, 90s and even early 2000s. Many have wondered what changed in Hip Hop to make a drastic turn in the quality of the music.
Perhaps the quality of music has not been diminished. Perhaps the artists that make quality tracks are not being displayed like they once were. In anything, business models will and can change to please an audience. If the business model of hip hop has indeed changed, the formula of being displayed to the masses revolves around themes of drugs, sex, money and violence; you are more likely to be played on mainstream radio talking about those topics than talking about social issues in a song. If those messages are really selling to large audiences, I can understand why it keeps being displayed. Hip Hop like most things revolves on what is selling and what is not.
Hip Hop didn’t always revolve around selling those themes. Before these topics became the norm in the airwaves, there was a balance that displayed opposite types of messages. What I’m most disappointed is how many of the great artists and producers of the past are not recognized by many of the younger fans today.
Many don’t know the pioneers of the genre, how it was made or where exactly it started. I think if you are a fan of anything, you should at least know some of the basic history of that subject. This blog will be an avenue to display the other side of the balance with the true art form of Hip Hop and the great artists of the past and present.
Hopefully in the end, I can spread the music I love to new fans even if it’s just one person.
