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10 songs that have been sampled to death
And Funky Drummer isn't one of them
Computer Music Specials, Wed 4 Feb 2009, 10:14 am UTC
Whatever your feelings about sampling, what can't be denied is that its impact on popular music has been immense. In recent years, countless hits have been built around loops lifted from existing songs.
During this time, it's become apparent that certain records attract the attention of samplists more than others. In fact, some tracks have been sampled so many times that the time has come for us to say, enough already.
1. Club Nouveau - Why You Treat Me So Bad
The distinctive hook from this classic slice of 80s R&B has been rinsed by the illustrious likes of P Diddy on Satisfy You, Ashanti's Only U and, perhaps most famously, on The Luniz crossover hip-hop classic I Got 5 On It.
2. The Isley Brothers - Make Me Say It Again Girl
The mellifluous yet funky ascending keys and bassline from one of the Isley Brothers' very finest moments was put to good use by Naughty by Nature on their anthemic Hip Hop Hooray, Gangsta Blac's Ain't No Love, and the legendary Tha Crossroads by Bone Thugs-n-Harmony.
3. George Clinton - Atomic Dog
Various elements from George Clinton's epic 80s funk track have been used to create the foundation of gangsta rap classics like Ice Cube's My Summer Vacation, The American Way by Nas, Snoop Dogg's Who Am I (What's My Name?) and even MC Hammer's ghetto-tastic Pumps And A Bump.
4. The Korgis - Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime
The melancholic piano and vocal from The Korgis' 1980 hit has been repeatedly sampled by dance artists, most notably NRG for 1992's breakbeat classic The Real Hardcore and Marc Et Claude for their trance interpretation I Need Your Lovin'.
