It’s always funny and surprising to see non-music sites talk about sampling. USA Today published an article called ‘Where have I heard that before? How Drake, Doja Cat, more sample hits to find chart success‘, examining some of the newest tracks on the Billboard chart to use samples. Artists include Doja Cat, Drake, DJ Khaled, WizKid, and the artist formerly(?) known as Kanye West.
Of course, sampling is hardly a contemporary trend. It’s widely accepted that Sugarhill Gang’s indelible “Rapper’s Delight” – often credited as the first commercial rap song in 1979 – shared some DNA with The Fatback Band’s “Kim Tim III.” The song also swiped the bass line from Chic’s “Good Times” and interpolated “Here Comes That Sound Again” from British disco band Love DeLuxe, in “Rapper’s” intro.
“It’s a feeling, an emotion. It’s not the genre you’re looking for, but just a vibe,” says producer-songwriter Drumma Boy, who has worked with hip-hop megastars including 2 Chainz (“Spend It [No DJ]”), T.I. (“What Up, What’s Haapnin'”), Future (“Usual”) and Gucci Mane (“All My Children”). “You can never get what someone else captured. Whether it’s a bass line, strings, horns, guitars – a lot of music back then was rehearsed over and over before it was captured on tape, so there was a professionalism to the musical sound.”
Would it be an article about sampling or general hip hop history if it didn’t reference ‘Rapper’s Delight‘?