I was going to hold off on this one for fear of giving RefinedHype readers Bob James overload (note to self: start a band called the Bob James Overload), but since y'all seemed to enjoy my exhausting-if-not-exhaustive rundown of the many records to sample “Nautilus,” I figured I'd go ahead and take a look at the fusion/smooth-jazz pioneer's other big claim to hip-hop fame: a little break that, even if you've never heard its creator's name before today, you will probably recognize from one of the roughly bazillion rap cuts to prominently feature it.
And you'll definitely recognize it if you happened to check out DJBooth's audio features Thursday night. Just a few short hours after deciding on the topic for today's column, I flipped on The Kid Daytona's latest mixtape leak, the 9th Wonder-produced “Fly Lullaby,” and heard a slowed-down version of the very same break. Sure, that may not be too shocking coming from an artist who'd previously released an EP based entirely on “Nautilus,” but still... I'm chalking this one up to fate.
Moving along, here's folk-rock legend Paul Simon's “Take Me to the Mardi Gras,” off his '73 sophomore solo album, There Goes Rhymin' Simon:
And here's Bob James' samba-infused cover of the same, off '74 sophomore album Two (he must have used up all his creativity on the music, huh?)
The lightbulbs should be going off seconds after you hit play. There it is: the bell/drum break that launched a thousand rap records. Go ahead and listen to the whole thing, though – I'ma go make another pot of coffee.
OK... done? Cool. Here we go: a roughly chronological, extremely incomplete rundown of some of the records to sample the break.
The first use of the sample (according to Whosampled.com who, as usual, I'm drawing upon heavily here) came way back in '82 when early hip-hop electro group Crash Crew interpolated it on hit single “Breaking Bells.”
Crash Crew – Breaking Bells (Take Me to the Mardi Gras)
Though the bells had officially been broken, it was a few more years before artists really began rocking' em. LL Cool J was one of the next prominent artists to do so, on an '85 single off his Radio LP.
LL Cool J – Rock the Bells
And Grandmaster Flash followed suit, on this joint off 1986' The Source.
Grandmaster Flash – Freelance
Also in '86, Rev Run and company rocked rhymes over the immortal break on the opening track off Raising Hell:
Run D.M.C. - Peter Piper
Rounding out the '86 samplings, the Beastie Boys spit over a modified version of James' groove sample on Licensed to Ill inclusion “Hold It Now, Hit It.”
Beastie Boys – Hold It Now, Hit It
Dr. Dre – yes, the Dr. Dre – and Shakespeare of the World Class Wreckin' Cru grabbed it for this '87 single, which found them instructing listeners on the Cabbage Patch.
World Class Wreckin' Cru – Cabbage Patch
In 1991, two legendary crews used the sample as a backdrop for rhymes about important social issues: off Apocalypse '91... The Enemy Strikes Black, the Imperial Grande Ministers of Funk-produced “1 Million Bottlebags” saw Public Enemy addressing the effects of alcohol on the African-American community
Public Enemy – 1 Million Bottlebags
while the 2 Live Crew gave their hilasriously explicit take on the dangers of unsafe sex on this hip-hop PSA off As Nasty as They Wanna Be, Pt. 2
2 Live Crew – Who's F*ckin' Who
.
Eric. B and Rakim grabbed it soon after for “The Punisher,” off '92's Don't Sweat the Technique.
Eric B. and Rakim – The Punisher
Naughty by Nature's self-titled full-length, released in '94, found the group pleading with the powers that be to “Let the Ho's Go,”
Naughty by Nature – Let the Ho's Go
and Heavy D offered the ladies “Nuttin' But Love” on this single off the album of the same name.
Heavy D & The Boys – Nuttin' but Love
Jumping forward in hip-hop history, Missy Elliot and Timbo worked the break into the outro of 2002 smash “Work It” (though a snippet of Bob James' keyboard melody appears earlier, at 1:44)
Missy Elliott – Work It
And even more recently, in '07 will.i.am grabbed it for use on this anatomically-themed record off solo album Songs About Girls.
will.i.am – I Got It From My Mama:
OK, Refinedhypesters, now it's your turn to tell me what I've missed. And, for that matter, what classic samples would you like to see me tackle in future breakdowns. I'm all ears!
