The People United: Unraveling the Mystery Behind the “Control” Sample Posted by Nathan S. on 08/14/13 | Filed under Opinion, Production Breakdown, Rap Nerdery

I know by usual rap interwebs standards I should be posting the myriad/plethora/cornocopia of "Control" freestyles being pumped out, but do you really give a fuck about Fred the Godson's response? Do you really? Yeah, that's what I thought. Instead, there's another issue that's been driving me crazy, and since I haven't seen anyone else writing about it, once again I guess it's up to RefinedHype to hold it down for rap nerds.

Or more specifically, WHAT THE FUCK IS UP WITH THIS "CONTROL" SAMPLE?

Let's rewind. According to Big Sean, they were having problems clearing the sample on "Control", to the extent that it might push back his upcoming album, "Hall of Fame". Rather than delay the album he figured fuck it, this song's too important to keep on my hard drive, I'll just drop it. Nothing particularly unusual there, albums get delayed because of sample clearances every day. Still, the sample that resulted in Sean dropping the biggest song of the year (so far) seemed kind of like a big deal - so what the fuck was it?



And then, I started seeing DMCA takedown notices* going out for the "Control" stream. Again, nothing particularly unusual there. Labels have an infuriatingly common habit of demanding bloggers take down songs from artists that aren't released through the proper channels. (Side note: I know a lot of blogs who respond to those take downs with some version of the "But the artist released it himself!" defense. That seems like it should be a valid defense, until the labels respond with "We own the copyright, not the artist, fuck you, take it down" and you remember who really has control over the music.) Anyway, rap interwebs Illuminati knowledge coming up...

....but this was different - the takedowns weren't coming from some robot or label lackey, they were coming directly from a top Universal exec, something I'm struggling to remember happening before. Sure, UMG could have probably moved faster in getting "Control" taken down, I bet they wanted to let the track get some burn to up Sean's album sales first, but still, the message was clear. Getting this down (or at least looking they they were seriously trying to get it down) was a major priority.

Ok, now I was more than intrigued. What the fuck was this mystery sample that had even execs shook? I still hadn't seen anyone identify it, until RefinedHype Nation member Isaac Chevako came through in the comment section. According to Isaac, more accurately according to his co-worker, the sample is that "¡El pueblo unido, jamás será vencido!" ("The people united will never be defeated") vocal loop, which now that I listen to "Control" with that in mind it is exactly right:



Unfortunately, that still doesn't exactly answer the question. The song was first released in 1973 by Chilean artists Sergio Ortega and Quilapayún, a folk music group. Since then it's become a protest anthem that's been covered hundreds of times across the world in multiple languages, and I can't begin to tell you where this exact sample is from. So you can see why clearing the sample could be so hard. If the actual sample's from someone other than Ortega and Quilapayún, you might have to get both the group being sampled and Ortega x Quilapayún to sign off. And that's assuming everyone involved is still alive and/or it's clear who owns the publishing rights.

Regardless, I can guess by the seriousness of the take down notices that whoever does own this sample is none too pleased, and I really can't blame them. As a hip-hop fan I have to thank Big Sean for bringing "Control" into the world, but imagine if you're Ortega and Quilapayún (for simplicity's sake, we'll say they're the ones who control the sample). Some rapper you don't know uses a deeply meaningful song you wrote, a song people have literally died singing while fighting for their freedom, for a track like "Control"? And when the negotiations either drag or you outright refuse to let him use the sample, he just goes ahead and releases it anyway? You'd probably be pretty pissed and ready to sue too.

And as long as we're here, this seems like a good time to address the "I released the song for free so I can't be sued for the sample" myth so many artists seem to believe. As I've written before, you absolutely can still be sued, it's just not usually worth it for the sample owner. So the sample owner sues and wins 5% of the proceeds from the track. The song racked up a whoopin $100 from YouTube ads, congrats, you now made $5, not even a fraction of what you paid your lawyer.

But for a track on the scale of "Control" the math changes. That song's been streamed hundreds of thousands of times in the last 24 hours alone. Throw that money in the pot. Then you can argue that "Control" helped boost Big Sean's album sales (which is almost definitely will) and you should be entitled to a portion of that money. Then you can argue that people will be more likely to buy concert tickets to see Big Sean to see him perform "Control" (also probably true) and you should be entitled to a portion of that. Suddenly a lawsuit can become a money making, instead of money losing, proposition. (See also, Mac Miller vs. Lord Finesse.) And if you're also just straight up angry they used the sample....well then fuck 'em. Let's lawyer up.

Of course, this is all guesswork on my part. I have no actual idea what negotiations, if any, have taken place between Universal and whoever owns this sample, and whether people are angry at all. This is just conjecture based on what I;m seeing from my end, but still, it's interesting to think about, and I know some of my fellow rap nerds/sample heads in RefinedHype Nation are thinking about it too. Music fans only care about the song, music lovers care about how the song got to them, and I love this hip-hop shit, sample clearance complexity and all.

Rap nerds united will never be defeated.