WhoSampled created an awesome interactive about Isaac Hayes, “the spirit of Memphis”.
Alongside the likes of James Brown, George Clinton, Kool & The Gang and Michael Jackson, Isaac Hayes appears on a list of names responsible in no small amount for shaping the sound of contemporary music: the most sampled artists of all time. His work having been sampled over 1000 times, Isaac Hayes sits comfortably within the Top 20 all time most sampled artists and is one of just a handful of the most sampled soul voices. The influence of his work is far reaching with samples having been repurposed by artists ranging from Bristol trip-hop trailblazers Portishead and Massive Attack to southern rap pioneers The Geto Boys. His influence on hip hop is, of course, enormous – the list of artists to have sampled the Hayes catalog reads like a who’s who of the last two decades’ hip hop hot makers: Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Nas, Kanye, Wu-Tang, 2 Pac all featured.
Using Spotify and their own database, WhoSampled showcased various samples from his back catalogue as well as a data infographic, and a Six Degrees of Separation game to see how close your favourite artists were to the late soul singer.