Dose 7...A Throwback or Two

Today, I offer a couple of original samples. Sure, for most people of my generation these songs won't conjure up the memories of their release and "the good ole days", but even if you're young, they're sure to get you groovin'...

1)Funkin' For Jamaica by Tom Browne

My first introduction to Tom Browne came from the one and only J Dilla. Whilst still producing for Slum Village, Dilla sampled "Funkin' For Jamaica" on the Fantastic Vol. 2 track, "Forth and Back". When I got older, I started digging in the crates (thanks to a lot of help from Kevin Nottingham), and uncovering the original samples to a plethora of Dilla tracks. This pursuit led me to believe that much of the talent we heard in mid 90's hip-hop production came from classics, and the deeper I got the better the music was. This track is your quintessential late 70's & early 80's jazz recording. Check it out on Browne's Love Approach (1980).

Here


2)Today Won't Come Again by Donal Leace

It took me ages to admit to myself that Kanye West is a lazy producer. In K's defense, he has an amazing ear for music, but what he samples has been already been created. Unlike the Rza or Dilla, he doesn't sample two or three second snippets and individual instrumentation. Instead, he takes full choruses and verses, and aside from the chipmunkesque distortion he contributes, he does very little to make them his own. This is the case with "Today Won't Come Again". You know that whispering hook you think is so endearing and you love so much at the beginning of "Hey Mama"? Well that came directly from this song, but rather than dive into an honorary tribute to his mother, Leace calls for political change and places emphasis on action. Sounds good to me...

Get it from Kevin Nottingham on Late Registration: Original Samples