Mr. Kanye West

I usually highlight the sampled rather than the sampler, but this time, I wanted to do something a little different. It's no secret that the soul sample wave was brought on by Kanye and his success on The Blueprint. What a fitting title. After hearing the Jay-Z classic, in Kanye's words, record labels would call him up like "lemme get a beat that sound like Jay-Z. You know. . . . they dick riders." Lol, but it's the truth. The sped up soul sample, although borrowed from the RZA, became quickly associated w/ Kanye, and he took it and ran. The rest, as they say, is history.


Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes - Miss You



Jay-Z feat. Beanie Sigel, Scarface - This Can't Be Life






Graham Nash - Chicago**




Beanie Sigel - The Truth






Lauryn Hill - Mystery of Iniquity


Kanye West feat. Syleena Johnson - All Falls Down


**I just found out what that Graham Nash track is about. The song refers to both the riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, as well as the trial of the Chicago Eight, where protesters at the convention were charged with intent to incite a riot. The first line of the song: "Though your brother's bound and gagged, and they've chained him to a chair" refers to Bobby Seale, the only black defendant, who was actually gagged and bound to a chair in the courtroom following repeated outbursts. Shout out to Graham Nash for being socially responsible and able to sell records. Artists today think those traits are mutually exclusive.