These Are The Breaks: The 10 Best Rap Songs That Sample Al Green

The Reverend Al Green turns 65 today and we're counting down songs that sample his music.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Happy birthday to Al Green! The legendary soul singer—best known for classic '70s hits like "You Oughta Be With Me," "I'm Still In Love With You," and "Love and Happiness"—turns 65 today. You probably already know Green's name, but if you're a hip-hop fan like we are, you probably are more familar with Green's music than you think. His old vinyl records may be collecting dust in storage shacks somehwere, but his legacy has been kept alive by the rap songs that sampled his music. Rappers like Jay-Z, The Notorious B.I.G., and Nas and producers like Kanye West, Pete Rock, and RZA have all used his music at one point or another. That's why to help celebrate Green's born day we're taking a look back at The 10 Best Rap Songs That Sample Al Green.

Ghostface Killah f/ Raekwon & Cappadonna “Iron Maiden” (1996)

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Honorable mention(s): N/A

Complex says: RZA was in the prime of his production career in 1996 as he laced Ghostface's debut album with '70s soul samples galore. RZA built beats around not just Green, but also acts like Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, and Teddy Pendergrass. However, he sampled Al Green twice, once on this song and again by using "We Ought To Be Together" on "260."

Nas “Shootouts” (1996)

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Honorable mention(s): N/A

Complex says: As hip-hop fans, we've grown to appreciate the subtle ironies that come with music being built around samples. Case in point: Nas making a song about the last place you'd ever want to be at (a shootout) and sampling "I Wish You Here." Though, to be fair, Nas' descriptions of the street life are so vivid we kinda felt like we were there.

The Notorious B.I.G. “I Got A Story To Tell” (1997)

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Honorable mention(s): Eric B. & Rakim’s “Mahogany,” The Notorious B.I.G.’s “What’s Beef” & “Dead Wrong,” and Nas’ “U Wanna Be Me.”

Complex says: We're gonna go out on a limb here and say this is Biggie's favorite sample ever. After all, he made three insanely dope records based around "I'm Glad You're Mine." We'd love to say our favorite part about that song is the sample, but Buckwild's story about how Foxy Brown hated on the "I Got A Story To Tell" beat only to tell Biggie it was great later on kinda trumps it all.

Capone-N-Noreaga f/ Mobb Deep & Tragedy Khadafi “L.A., L.A. (Kuwait Remix)” (1997)

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Honorable mention(s): The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Long Kiss Goodnight”

Complex says: Yes, it's true you can clearly hear the sounds of Big's incredible "Long Kiss Goodnight" in the opening seconds of Green's "The Letter," but for the sake of diversity we're going with CNN on this one. Also because, you know, we don't wanna risk getting thrown off the 59th Street Bridge.

Jay-Z “Blueprint (Momma Loves Me)” (2001)

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Honorable mention(s): Project Pat’s “Easily Executed”

Complex says: Maybe the break on the title track to The Blueprint isn't as blatant as some of the others on this list. The break can be hear at the 2:16 mark on "Free At Last" and it's not immediately obvious when you hear "Blueprint." But there's really no way we could make a list about soul samples and not bring up Jay's seminal sixth studio album. After all, the record pretty much made sped-up soul samples in vogue and made stars out of producers like Kanye West and Just Blaze. Too bad Bink—who actually produced this song—didn't become a household name like them.

Diddy f/ G. Dep & Black Rob “Let’s Get It” (2001)

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Honorable mention(s): 2Pac’s “Thugz Mansion,” Busta Ryhmes’ “Turn It Up,” Cannibal Ox’s “Painkillers,” Kid Capri’s “Hot This Year,” Jurassic 5’s “Baby Please,” Twista’s “Do Wrong,” Royce Da 5’9’s “Regardless” & “You Can’t Touch Me”

Complex says: Sure, Al Green's "Love and Happiness" insn't on "Impeach The President" or "Funky Drummer" status—as in one of the most sampled breakbeats ever—but it's definitely up there, as the (limited) list above shows.  

Talib Kweli “Good To You” (2002)

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Honorable mention(s): G-Unit’s “Be Good To Me”

Complex says: There's a reason why 'Ye once dubbed himself "The Gap like Banana Republic and Old Navy." He may have become an in-demand producer after producing cuts for thugs like Beanie Sigel and Jay-Z, but he was still sporting the backpack and was a conscious hip-hop fan at heart. Maybe that's why he gave some of his dopest early beats to Kweli, including this one as well as the biggest hit of Kweli's career, "Get By."

Kanye West, John Legend & Consequence “Out The Game” (2003)

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Honorable mention(s): Kanye West’s “I Met Oprah”

Complex says: Yeezy must have been feeling himself on this one because he had to go flip this beat twice. As far as being out the game, we all know Kanye is too dedicated to his craft to ever actually leave music behind.

Pete Rock “You Remind Me” (2005)

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Honorable mention(s): Ghostface Killah’s “260”

Complex says: A song off Pete Rock's instrumental album, The Surviving Elements: From Soul Survivor II Sessions, this song was originally created for Rock's Soul Survivor II but didn't make the final cut. Which is too bad because we'd love to hear someone spazz out on a beat like this.

Jay Electronica “Dealing” (2008)

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Honorable mention(s): UMC’s “Any Way The Wind Blows” & Sunz of Man “Natural High”

Complex says: Although the sounds of "Here I Am" are on the track, that's not Green's vocals on singing the hook on here. That chorus samples another R&B legend, Marvin Gaye and his classic record "Sexual Healing." 

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