Production Breakdown: Kanye West’s “The Joy”

“This beat deserves Hennessy, a bag of weed and a bad b*tch – the Holy Trinity.” After this week's midterm-Election carnage, we need something to bring this country together. So, in the interest of national unity, can we all join hands and agree that “The Joy,” the latest entry in Kanye West's stellar G.O.O.D. Fridays series, is totally freaking dope?

What's that? Tea Partiers don't follow 'ye? And those who have heard of him actively dislike the guy? Sh*t, well I tried... uh, how about that new Taylor Swift album which I haven't listened to but I'm sure it's pretty good I guess?



Anyway, “The Joy” did live up to its name in the Booth as well as on RefinedHype, inspiring Nathan to fall victim to a nasty case of hip-hop Tourettes, readers on both sites to praise the cut to high heavens, and me to do a little research on what went into the instrumental. And, since I have a strict policy of turning time wasted on YouTube , WhoSampled.com and Wikipedia into columns whenever possible, I thought I'd share with the class.



If you've been paying any attention whatsoever (and if you're reading ReifnedHype, I'm guessing you have been you probably have been), you know that the main sample flipped in West and Rock's beat comes from “The Makings of You,”a track off Chicago Soul legend/Impressions frontman Curtis Mayfield's half-self-titled 1970 debut solo set, Curtis. With the Chicago Soul vet's inimitable falsetto vocals and the lush instrumental backdrop, this record's too great (and too well-known) to have been left unsampled till now – sure enough, several other artists and producers have looked to the same record for inspiration.

This identically-titled track off Terrace Martin's brand new “FreEP,” Here, My Dear (named after Marvin Gaye's album, of course) shows what could've resulted if Kanye had taken the Chipmunk-Soul route.



Nick “Fury” Loftin took a somewhat similar, but farther left-of-center approach – dig the crying-baby sample – on “The Righteous Way,” off '09's Fish Outta Water.



With the help of co-producers Missy Elliott, Cliff Jones and David Lindsey R&B singer Monica put a materialistic (but still, pretty damn fresh) spin on the classic on this cut off her 2006 LP, The Makings of Me.

Pete Rock ft. Little Brother – Makings of You


Gladys Knight & The Pips' '74 cover of “Makings of You”



proved to be equally fertile ground for samplers, inspiring everyone from 50 Cent (the Phonix Beats-produced-produced “I'll Do Anything”, off '09's War Angel LP)



to Skyzoo & 9th Wonder (“The Way to Go,” off 06' Cloud 9: The 3 Day High).



And here's Pete Rock again, teaming up with Little Brother on Soul Survivor II cut “Give It to Ya”



But let's be real for a second: “The Joy” simply wouldn't be the record it is without that deep-voiced “Ungh!” every couple bars. OK, that was half a joke – but in the process of typing that last sentence I convinced myself that it was true: somehow it just works.. So who is that mysterious, uncredited grunter? Syl Johnson; the Mississippi bluesman/soul singer's '67 single “Different Strokes” provided not only the aforementioned vocal accents but also the break that backed Kanye's record.



And if those grunts ring a bell, then it may be thanks to KRS-One/Boogie Down Productions (“Criminal Minded”)



Public Enemy (“Miuzi Weighs a Ton,” “”Fear of a Black Planet”)



or... uh... Shaquille O'Neal's closing verse on Michael Jackson's “2 Bad?”



And those are just a few random examples – not even delving into the numerous artists who sampled portions of “Different Strokes” beyond the intro.

So there you have it – more about the samples behind “The Joy” than I'm guessing you ever wanted to know. Enjoy your weekend, RefinedHypesters.