Given his newfound status as a celebrated author (and resident egotripland contributing curmudgeon), perhaps it’s easy to forget J-Zone’s history as a skilled producer in his own right. The miracle-working maestro of dollar bin sample fare, Zone’s dense leftfield funk has accompanied raps by everyone from Akinyele to R.A. the Rugged Man, E-40 to Andy Samberg’s Lonely Island. But it’s his own recordings that provide the best platform for his distinctively off-the-wall aesthetic. While J’s 2001 opus Pimps Don’t Pay Taxes remains a classic of the broke baller ethos, don’t snooze on the other projects deeper within his oeuvre – like his exceedingly clever ’06 Hendrix tribute EP, Experienced! Like much of his other work their comic impulses belie a musical intricacy and sophistication that show J to be an ace student of the craft of beat-making. Oh, and let the record also show: contrary to popular rumor this funk fiend hasn’t fully retired from making tracks, he’s just chillin’ in the rap nursing home. Between bingo matches and bedpan changes we hit him up for a list of his favorite sample flips.
PEEP J-ZONE’S 10 FAVORITE SAMPLE FLIPS (AND TWO HONORABLE MENTIONS)… AFTER THE JUMP…
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Many of us may claim kinship with the music of the late, great J Dilla, a/k/a Jay Dee, but far fewer can claim to have been down with the man himself. Waajeed is one of those special few. A high school pal of Jay Dee’s back in Detroit, and an early member of Slum Village (back when the crew was rolling under the name Ssenepod, i.e. “dopeness” spelled backwards), Jeedo got his start in production when he bought Dilla’s old MPC and taught himself the art of beat-making. His tracks have since graced the efforts of Slum, Invincible, Tiombe Lockhart, and his own band with Saadiq, Platinum Pied Pipers (whose 2005 debut Triple P remains one of the great nu-soul/hip-hop efforts of the aughts). Waajeed’s latest endeavors include his Electric Street Orchestra project – still incubating and featuring collabs with what sounds like a who’s who of underground music luminaries across genres – as well as a documentary film on the life of J Dilla. His newly relaunched site, bling47.com, is the web manifestation of his Bling 47 creative organization (which has included a label and management team), and features an excellent ongoing video series entitled “Bling 47 Breaks” dedicated to sample spotting within the Dilla ouevre. On this, what would have been J Dilla’s 38th birthday, who better to present a special commemorative list of his 10 favorite Dilla sample flips than his friend and colleague, Waajeed. J Dilla, RIP.
PEEP WAAJEED’S 10 FAVORITE J DILLA SAMPLE FLIPS… AFTER THE JUMP…
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By David Ma
“I’m not the best motherfucker, but I’m better than a lot of n*ggas,” the grand imperial Lord Finesse once famously, succinctly remarked on record. While one would expect such swift hubris would apply to the Funky Man’s acumen for punchline-heavy braggadocio verses, it actually resounds three-fold. For Finesse is that true rarity amongst hip-hoppers: a revered and celebrated emcee who also boasts equally prodigious talents as a DJ and producer.
Despite classic rap efforts to his credit like 1990’s Funky Technician, it’s been Finesse’s fine work behind the console that’s kept him most active between extended breaks on the mic. Often characterized by dark, reverb-soaked horns, forgotten jazz riffs, propulsive drums, and those signature sleigh bells, his productions have naturally punctuated the efforts of his brethren in the D.I.T.C. (Diggin’ In the Crates) collective – Show & AG, Fat Joe, O.C., and his protégé, the late, great Big L. But he’s also helmed the beats for “Suicidal Thoughts,” off The Notorious B.I.G.’s Ready To Die, and “The Message” from Dr. Dre’s 2001 album. Both are classic Finesse in terms of sound and feel; both round out their respective albums with emotionally resonant tracks that show their architect’s musical range.
With his recent mixtapes, Art Of Diggin’ Vol. 1 and Art of Diggin’ Vol. 2, “The Underboss” continues to display his knack for picking the right records to utilize. And though it’s been 17 years since his last LP of new raps, 2012 promises a resurgence of Finesse through a slew of both original and archival material via Slice-Of-Spice Records. Sounds like the perfect time then, to consult the Funky Technician for his all-time favorite (rather funky) sample flips.
PEEP LORD FINESSE’S FAVORITE SAMPLE FLIPS… AFTER THE JUMP…
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A-Trak is one of the most accomplished DJs on the planet – a gentleman who won the 1997 DMC World Championships at the tender age of 15, performed extensively with the Skratch Piklz, was hand-picked by Kanye West to be his tour DJ, and now regularly headlines festivals in countries we’ve only experienced via repeats of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations. He’s also the co-founder (along with Nick Catchdubs) of Fool’s Gold, the record label that’s formalized his commitment to club music in all its varied forms – from everyone’s favorite frighteningly unhinged rapper, Danny Brown, to Trizzy’s own “Dirty South Dance Remixes” and productions for the likes of Kid Sister, and Duck Sauce, his partnership with Armand Van Helden (peep the Biz doll’s cameo in their “Barbra Streisand” video). But personally we just enjoy the fact that the guy provided zigga-ziggas on recordings by our favorite ’90s Montreal indie rap act, Obscure Disorder, and once recorded a song for Stones Throw named after a character from The Simpsons. It was based solely on those credentials that we felt compelled to ask him for a list of his favorite sample flips.
PEEP A-TRAK’S 10 FAV’S…AFTER THE JUMP…
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Large Professor is, quite simply, one of the most important hip-hop producers to ever touch the SP-1200. Mentored by the late, great “golden era” studio wizard Paul C, already having worked with Rakim and Kool G Rap while still a teenager, this master craftsman’s most beloved music all but defines New York’s classic purist aesthetic. His signature sound would evolve two-fold through the ’90s. On the one hand, Extra P was amongst the first rap maestros (along with brethren in beats, Pete Rock) to harness the frantic collage style associated with the Bomb Squad and Prince Paul in a more soulfully straightforward context – creating the intricately arranged ghetto symphonies of Main Source’s superb 1991 debut, Breaking Atoms. On the other, P’s ability to manipulate a single workhorse sample – as exemplified by Nas’ “Halftime” and “It Ain’t Hard to Tell,” A Tribe Called Quest’s “Keep It Rollin’,” and acclaimed remixes for Gang Starr, Slick Rick, Common, and others – exhibited his genius for simplicity. The aughts would see more notable additions to his production discography (Nas’ “You’re Da Man”; Roc Marciano’s UN’s “What They Want”). But what may be most impressive about Large Pro after all these years is his dedication to his trade. As is evidenced by the following varied list of his favorite sample flips, LP is never too professorial to himself study the art of making tracks.
LARGE PROFESSOR’S 10 FAVORITE SAMPLE FLIPS… AFTER THE JUMP…
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People tend to throw around the term “slept on” a little too freely in hip-hop. But in the case of producer K-Def it’s entirely fitting. The Passaic, New Jersey product – who came up under the tutelage of Marley Marl working the boards at the super-producer’s House of Hits studio in the early ’90s – boasts a discography healthy with both hits and soulfully crafted cult favorites for the likes of Lords of the Underground, Tragedy, World Renown, and Ghostface Killah. And in the ominously orchestrated string stabs of “Real Live Shit,” by Real Live – his own group with rhyme partner Larry-O – K may lay claim to one of the definitive crime rhyme tracks of the ’90s. Remarkably, his most recent output may actually include some of his best work yet. An excellent, previously unreleased LL Cool J tune rescued from his archives resides comfortably alongside his finest vintage material. An impressive ongoing series of sonically potent instrumentals for Redefinition Records – including the sublime “Supa Heath” – culminates in an EP, Night Shift, dropping this month. Thus, in an effort to help prevent the current K-Def creative renaissance from drifting undeservedly into the “slept on” lane, we felt it only right to ask the man for a list of his favorite sample flips.
HEAR K-DEF’S FAVORITE FLIPS & PEEP HIS COMMENTS… AFTER THE JUMP…
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James Pants – Stones Throw recording artist, producer, DJ, spice enthusiast (a man for whom no meal is complete without a bottle of Sriracha). Though not your conventional “rap” producer, Pants garners ’nuff props from rap people both classic and contemporary (we’re betting he’s the only individual to have collab-ed with both Egyptian Lover and Tyler, the Creator) by simply, always being Pants. Meaning he’s both wildly skilled and wildly unpredictable with his music-making – as evidenced by his varied excursions into electro funk, easy listening, and the atmospheric and lovely whateveryouwannacallit pop/rock stuff of his latest, excellent, self-titled LP. Nevermind the fact that he holds down a rarely updated, curry-centric BLOGZ page on this here very site. We’d still have asked the guy for a list of his favorite sample flips. Before you check ‘em out, a word from the Spice Guy hisself:
James Pants: To preface this, I would like to first add that I don’t like professionalism. That is, I don’t like samples when they are chopped, cut, spliced, and re-formed with technical prowess. I like my hip-hop simple, stupid, and illegal. Why mess with a good thing? So, here are 10 of my favorite songs that more or less pull a full hi-jack…
PEEP JAMES PANTS’ 10 FAVORITE SAMPLE FLIPS… AFTER THE JUMP…
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Since helming the punishing production for Black Moon’s classic 1993 debut, Enta Da Stage (not to mention a remarkably strong string of Bootcamp Click releases that followed), Bushwick, BK-bred siblings DJ Evil Dee and Mr. Walt – known together as Da Beatminerz – have added their distinctively raw sonic touch to tracks for everyone from D’Angelo to De La to Dilated Peoples. The classic characteristics of a Brothers Dewgarde beat may include anything from a cleverly triggered keyboard (Black Moon’s “Who Got the Props”) to dub style bass drowned in filter (Smif-N-Wessun’s “Bucktown”) to a string section gone bazerk with tension and release (Rah Digga’s “Tight”). Yet ever present is that Brooklyn bounce, buoyed by drum tracks one’s ears could get numb off. When not behind los boards, E and Walt (and their team of co-conspirators) can be found at dabeatminerz.com making the on-line radio airwaves fonkee. We recently caught up with these rap scholars between u-streams to discuss their favorite sample flips – Evil Dee first with five on it, followed by Mr. Walt. Yes, party people, after all these years ain’t a damn thing changed: ego trip still fuckin’ wit’ them brothas Beatminerz on productions. Enta da sage…
READ & HEAR DA BEATMINERZ 10 FAVORITE SAMPLE FLIPS… AFTER DA JUMP….
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Los Angeles born and bred, emcee/producer Evidence has been a dogged champion of the boom-bap since back when doing so made you something of a Westside anomaly. With a resume boasting enviable purist hip-hop credentials (co-founding member of Dilated Peoples, possessor of an acclaimed solo career, longtime friend and collaborator with the likes of the like-minded DJ Premier and Alchemist etc.) it should come as little surprise that Ev has outlasted so many of his colleagues from rap’s late ’90s underground explosion. Or that he was puttin’ in work on Kanye West‘s debut (co-producing The College Dropout‘s “Last Call”) long before Yeezy was inviting cats to Hawaii, or hanging in Oz with Russell Crowe. With his latest excellent solo endeavor, Cats & Dogs, dropping September 27th via Rhymesayers it was only right that we hit up The Weatherman for a list of his favorite sample flips. The forecast: impassioned sonic insights ’bout to rain on ya. Aight!
EXPERIENCE EVIDENCE’S 10 FAVORITE SAMPLE FLIPS AFTER THE JUMP…
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If you’re familiar with J. Rocc first and foremost as a DJ – or more accurately, one of the best DJs on this here Planet Earth – no one can exactly blame you. Since co-founding the renowned Beat Junkies turntablist crew in ’92, the Los Angeleno’s destroyed sets wherever steel wheels spin – clubs, radio, mix-tapes, and live shows (having backed Madlib in concert since the early ’00s, as well as Madlib and J Dilla when the two performed together as Jaylib). However, this past April, J. also exhibited himself to be a damn formidable producer, dropping an excellent and long overdue debut album, Some Cold Rock Stuf (Stones Throw), that proved his time hangin’ with Otis Jackson and James Yancey was obviously well spent. With so much knowledge and appreciation for the construction and deconstruction of tracks in the “Funky President’s” sphere it was only right that we contact his office to request an address of his all-time top sample flips.
HEAR & READ J. ROCC’S FAVORITE SAMPLE FLIPS AFTER THA JUMP…
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Words: David Ma
More than just a beatmaker, Prince Paul brings personality to the table: a raunchy Morgan Freeman sound alike, a sound bite from the defunct TV comedy Get A Life, or a well-timed fart joke all have made their way into his work. He also pioneered the classic rap skit, a device in which he’s employed anyone from Xzibit to Father Guido Sarducci to add a context and color to the narrative. As the Undertaker of the Gravediggaz he’s also been credited with ushering in rap’s horrorcore genre (something he deflected during our interview with an evil “Ha ha ha!” followed by a fart noise).
From his contributions as a youngin’ to Stetsasonic, to his time with De La as Plug Four, to his Handsome Boy Modeling School collab with Automator, Paul’s quirky approach is as sought after as it is copied. He’s made mad classics, and here we proudly present the 10 favorite sample flips of this conventionally unconventional clown prince among thieves.
READ & HEAR THEM AFTER THE JUMPY JUMP…
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Coming straight outta the Pacific Northwest repping Seattle, Washington, esteemed producer Jake One is a true hip-hop rarity: one of the few beatsmiths who can claim contributions to albums by mainstream megastars like 50 Cent and Snoop, yet still enjoys no shortage of props from purists. (Those unfamiliar with dude’s super sonic talents may wanna peep his various collabs with Freeway, or his own acclaimed White Van Music LP from a couple years back.) Recently, we caught up with the new dad between production sessions and stroller cruises (can White Mini Van Music be far behind?) to ask him what his ten favorite sample flips are. Much like his own diverse output his picks run the gamut.
READ & HEAR JAKE’S LIST AFTER THE JUMP…
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Tomorrow night, the one and only DJ Spinna rocks the house at Southpaw.
WHAT: High Water Music Showcase ft. DJ Spinna, Fresh Daily, Willie Evans Jr., and Edan and Paten Locke
WHERE: Southpaw / 125 5th Ave. Brooklyn 11217
WHEN: May 25th, 2011 @9PM
HOW: By Any Means Necessary (and $12), Buy tix here.
Brooklyn’s finest is one of the globe’s greatest party-people-pleasin’ turntable technicians, as anyone who’s attended his renowned Stevie Wonder, or Prince vs. Michael Jackson tribute parties, or enjoyed his uniformly excellent mix compilations can attest. What folks tend to forget, however, is that Spinna’s also a tremendously well-rounded producer, whose repertoire includes underground hip-hop, R&B, and house classics. In advance of Wednesday’s gig, we caught up with this master craftsman to ask him what his 10 favorite sample-based production flips are – any genre, any style.
CHECK OUT SPINNA’S PICKS AFTER THE JUMP…
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