The debate on what constitutes fair use in sampling will rage on until the end of time but examples such as these show how creative you can be with the art form. YouTube user Lionel Bonnaz posted this video in 2009 but while looking for the sample on Modjo’s Chillin’ I found the link in the comments section. Using Ableton Live, Lionel found the samples taken from Chic’s Le Freak, chopped and arranged them into the hook used by Modjo, before pitching it up and adding that trademark compressor.
The beauty of it is you don’t hear the pieces individually in Modjo’s song until they’re put together and I think that’s a key element when it comes to sampling and what the law should say. From my perspective, if someone had done this kind of thing to one of my tracks, I would have no problem with it being used as it vaguely sounds like the original, if at all. But that’s just me and everyone has their own thoughts on their own intellectual property. It’s the rearrangement of a recipe with slightly different ingredients and added spice. And it tastes damn good.
But what do you think? Let us know in the comments.
