Kon + Amir Present: The 50 Greatest Hip-Hop Samples Of All Time

These are some of the greatest hip hip samples of all time. Strictly for the listeners.

Greatest Hip Hop Samples Of All Time

Greatest Hip-Hop Samples Of All Time

Greatest Hip Hop Samples Of All Time

These days, everyone loves hip-hop. But how much does the average fan really know about the building blocks that formed the foundation of the genre's entire sound? That's right, before it was all-808-everything, hip-hop used a secret (and sometimes not-so-secret) selection of classic soul, funk rock, and jazz records from the ‘60s and ‘70s to create their sound. From tiny, obscure snippets to instantly-recognizable loops, the sample-based producers of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s uncovered some truly classic musical gems that are still sought after and used today.

Thank god we've got folks like Kon + Amir to keep us digging deeper. The veteran record collectors, DJs, and producers (yeah, they basically they do it all) know all about said slept-on gems. So we decided to call them up and get them to select their all-time favorite samples. Check out their countdown, complete with audio examples and commentary from the guys themselves.

This story originally appeared on Complex.com on May 7, 2010.

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50. The Honey Drippers "Impeach the President" (1973)

49. Melvin Bliss "Synthetic Substitution" (1973)

Producer: Herb Rooney
Album: N/A
Label: Sunburst

Amir: "That was used heavily for the drums, and some people used the sample later on in the song. Everyone from Paul C to Pete Rock and everybody else used those drums. It's hard to find a late '80s hip-hop song without them, or a few other key drum breaks."

Kon: "That is Bernard 'Pretty' Purdie on the drums, who I have had the pleasure of actually rocking with and meeting and going to dinner with. Probably the most recorded drummer in the history of music-modern-day R&B music, from the '60s on up. From Steve Gadd to Aretha Franklin, that guy has been on so many records, but 'Synthetic Substitution' is a timeless break. I mean, that's a hard hitting break, and the whole song is a crazy record. And the lyrics hold true to this day, now more than ever."

Sampled On: Ultramagnetic MC's "Ego Trippin'" (1988)

48. Skull Snaps "It's A New Day" (1973)

Producer: George Kerr
Album: Skull Snaps
Label: GSF

Ami: "That's a Stezo from Connecticut discovery! He had a record out on Fresh/Sleeping Bag records. After after that, to this day, people are like, 'Yo, you got that Skull Snaps record?' That's one of those records, if you're a serious collector, you've gotta have. If you don't have Skull Snaps in your collection, your collection is weak."

Kon: "Another famous break with heavy compression. I don't know what they decided to do, but whatever they did in that session they did it right. The first person to use that was Stezo from Connecticut for 'My Turn.' But that whole Skull Snaps LP is bananas, by the way."

Sampled On: Stezo "It's My Turn" (1989)

47. James Brown "Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose (Remix)" (1969)

Producer: Original: James Brown, Remixer: Tim Rogers
Album: In The Jungle Groove
Label: Polydor

Amir: "It hasn't been sampled as much as the other James Brown songs, but it's a huge b-boy break. When I hear that song, I get goosebumps even to this day. I just envision seeing Wild Style and Graffiti Rock and cats breaking to that. It's one of those songs that has had a huge impact on hip-hop, period."

Kon: "Maybe one of James' most important records. For hip-hop, for b-boys, that's huge, like the 'Apache' line. That's the anthem! I think that's James at his finest. That right there to me, is the embodiment of hip-hop."

Sampled On: N.W.A. "100 Miles and Runnin'" (1990)

46. Isaac Hayes "Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic" (1969)

Producer: Al Bell, Marvell Thomas, Allen Jones
Album: Hot Buttered Soul
Label: Enterprise

Amir: "Rest in peace to him-Isaac Hayes meant a lot to hip-hop, just like James Brown. That's one of the songs that Public Enemy used, on 'Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos,' that was a big song off their second album. A few other people used other parts of the song as well, but that was definitely one of the best."

Kon: "That is another amazing artist, all around. He covered it all, he did everything. What can I say...I mean, it's Isaac Hayes! That's Chocolate Salty Balls. [Laughs.]"

Sampled On: Public Enemy "Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos" (1989)

45. Manzel "Midnight Theme" (1976)

Producer: Manzel Bush, Shad O'Shea
Album: N/A
Label: Fraternity

Amir: "I know people have heard those drums before, but the way Muggs used 'Midnight Theme' made people so open that they had to look for that record again."

Kon: "A really dope record, slower than 'Space Funk,' but 'Midnight Theme' was the big Manzel break that Cypress Hill used on 'How I Could Just Kill A Man.' But the first person to use that break was actually Prince Paul on a De La Soul's 'Plug Tunin'' [in 1988]."

Sampled On: Cypress Hill "How I Could Just Kill A Man" (1991)

44. James Brown "Funky President" (1974)

Producer: James Brown
Album: Reality
Label: Polydor

Kon Says: "Marley Marl loved that record. From cuttin' up the vocals to the intro of the drums...I mean, everyone has used that, that's a big record. Actually, it doesn't exist on vinyl, but I have a version where there is no guitar over the drums on the intro. It's just a clean drum break. I don't know who leaked that, but that came from multitracks or somethin' like that."

Sampled On: Eric B. & Rakim "Eric B. is President" (1986)

43. The Meters "Cardova" (1969)

Producer: Art Neville, Ziggy Modeliste, Leo Nocentelli, George Porter, Jr.
Album: The Meters
Label: Josie

Amir: "The Meters are all over '80s hip hop. The one who used that the best was MC Lyte. For some reason, her using it for that Antionette diss really stands out to me."

Kon: "Another band that I think should get a lot more credit than they do. No one really had that kind distinct rhythm and swing between the bass system and the drummer. From New Orleans. They were so good, in fact, that the Rolling Stones had them open up some tours in the '70s. I don't know if that would be my cut from them..."

Sampled On: MC Lyte "Shut The Fuck Up, Hoe!" (1989)

42. Maceo & The Macks "Soul Power" (1974)

Producer: James Brown
Album: Us!
Label: People

Amir: "There's no b-boy jam that I know of where they're not going to play that song, it's huge. Everyone from Redman to cats at the beginning of hip hop have used it."

Kon: "Clearly, if you weren't sampling James Brown back then, then you weren't doing something right."

Sampled On: Redman "Rated R" (1992)

41. Kool and the Gang "Chocolate Buttermilk" (1969)

Producer: Gene Redd
Album: Kool and the Gang
Label: De-Lite

Amir: "Most people hear Kool and the Gang and they think 'Cherish' and all the other wack-ass disco songs they had. No one knows they started as a jazz/funk group doing ill breaks. The only group, on record, that James Brown ever said was just as funky as him was Kool and the Gang."

Kon: "'Chocolate Buttermilk,' that was used by Eric B & Rakim a few times, but it's been sampled so many times for so many different things."

Sampled On: Pete Rock & CL Smooth "Straighten It Out" (1992)

40. Foster Sylvers "Misdemeanor" (1973)

Producer: Keg Johnson
Album: Foster Sylvers
Label: Pride

Amir: "A lot of cats in the West Coast used that. That was on a lot of late '80s/early '90s hip-hop as well."

Kon: "That was used first by The DOC and Dr. Dre for 'Funky Enough.' The Sylvers was basically a group that was an answer to the Jackson 5. Foster Sylvers, who was the young singer of the group like Michael Jackson, I think he was actually a convicted pedophile later in life. Yep, he was a diddler...I don't think it was a misdemeanor. [Laughs.]"

Sampled On: The D.O.C. "It's Funky Enough" (1989)

39. The Ohio Players "Funky Worm" (1972)

Producer: The Ohio Players
Album: Pleasure
Label: Westbound

Amir: "West Coast hip-hop was all over that, from Ice Cube to N.W.A. The Midwest too. It's a slower sample, BPM-wise. A lot of beats on the West Coast at that time were slower, they were made for the ride. Some of my West Coast favorites used that."

Kon: "Another one that's been sampled to death. That record was ahead of its time to me. The keyboard breakdown sounds like some Egyptian-type shit. I play that record in my sets a lot."

Sampled On: MC Breed & D.F.C. "Ain't No Future In Yo Frontin'" (1991)

38. Babe Ruth "The Mexican" (1972)

Producer: Alan Shacklock, Nick Mobbs
Album: First Base
Label: Capitol

Amir: "Some cats in hip-hop definitely sampled that, but for me, it's about the b-boy aspect. There's a few songs like 'Apache' and that one, when you hear it, it gives you goosebumps."

Kon: "Another b-boy anthem. It was a crazy record. I think initially, I had it on a 45 under a different name-same group, but it's from a soundtrack. I think for a Fistful of Dollars or something like that. I can't even remember. But that's a record that Kool Herc killed 'em with. Not that I was there, but reading my history and hearing about it. Another timeless b-boy anthem."

Sampled On: Organized Konfusion "Prisoners Of War" (1991)

37. Kid Dynamite "Uphill Peace of Mind" (1976)

Producer: Dick Robinson, Hal Winn
Album: Kid Dynamite
Label: Cream

Amir: "I chose that because of PRT. Poor Righteous Teachers were the first ones to use Kid Dynamite on 'Shakiyla.' That was another one, like 'Yo, who is that?' I think Tony D, he just passed away, he was a hip-hop producer from Jersey, used it first."

Kon: "That's the Just Ice break. There's are a bunch of versions of that song, another one would be Lloyd Price, which by the way has some relation to Freddie Foxxx. I think Lloyd Price is his stepfather, which a lot of people don't know. I could be wrong, but there's some relation to Freddie Foxxx.

"But 'Uphill Peace of Mind' by Kid Dynamite, another featured big break featured on Ultimate Breaks and Beats. But again, there are several versions of that song and they all have some merit. Aside from the break, I actually prefer the Lloyd Price version."

Sampled On: Poor Righteous Teachers "Shakiyla (JRH)" (1991)

36. Kool and the Gang "Let the Music Take Your Mind" (1969)

Producer: Gene Redd
Album: Kool and the Gang
Label: De-Lite

Amir: "When you're finished with 'Chocolate Buttermilk,' and sampled enough of that, that's the next one on the album with the ill breaks in it. A lot of times, a lot of classic hip hop albums were made from just one album. Because once you use it, someone else is going to find the same album and use something else, so you might as well be the first."

Kon: "You can't go wrong with any early Kool and the Gang stuff."

Sampled On: Ice Cube "AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted" (1990)

35. Cymande "The Message" (1972)

Producer: John Schroeder
Album: Cymande
Label: Janus, RCA

Amir: "That's a b-boy kind of joint, but it's been sampled too. Cymande is a well-known group and collective who have had a couple big songs, in terms of hip-hop."

Kon: "That was used by Marley Marl on 'Me & The Biz' by Masta Ace. I love all of Cymande's records; they're all good stuff."

Sampled On: Masta Ace "Me & The Biz" (1990)

34. Thunder and Lightning "Bumpin' Bus Stop" (1975)

Producer: Richard Delvy
Album: N/A
Label: Private Stock

Amir: "In the late '80s, early '90s that was a big hip-hop sample for the drums and the voice. 'Step up, step-step-up!' When you collect soul, it's a big soul record, and as a DJ I like to play that. It immediately catches your attention."

Kon: "That was first used by Positive K 'Step Up Front.' And it was cut up for 'Step in the Arena.' Then 2pac sampled the Preemo loop and then A Tribe Called Quest cut that up for 'The Hop.' That song on its own is the shit. The drum break is great, but people know for it for the vocal sample."

Sampled On: Gang Starr "Step In The Arena" (1991)

33. Bill Doggett "Honky Tonk Popcorn" (1970)

32. Isaac Hayes "Walk On By" (1969)

Producer: Al Bell, Marvell Thomas, Allen Jones
Album: Hot Buttered Soul
Label: Enterprise

Amir: "Ah man, how many versions of that song have been done? That is another example of a perfect record, regardless of it being sampled or not."

Kon: "Biggie used it for 'Warning.' You drop the beginning of that song now, people don't associate it with Issac Hayes they associate it with Biggie."

Sampled On: The Notorious B.I.G. "Warning" (1994)

31. The J.B.'s "Pass the Peas" (1972)

Producer: James Brown
Album: Pass The Peas
Label: Mojo

Amir: "It's big in the b-boy world. A lot of groups that used that sample would be considered what we call 'random rap.' In the late 80s, hip hop records that were on indie labels or were recorded out of a house, selling at Beat Street or Downtown Records that didn't make a lot of impact, but were played on Mr. Magic or Marley or something. They go for a lot of money, now. A lot of cats were on the late 80s stuff. This record personifies that era."

Kon: "Another record of perfection. Can't go wrong anything James Brown related, except his biggest hit was 'Living in America,' and that is probably my least favorite James Brown record. [Laughs.]"

Sampled On: De La Soul "Pass the Plugs" (1991)

30. The Meters "Look-Ka Py Py" (1969)

Producer: Allen Toussaint
Album: Look-Ka Py Py
Label: Josie

Amir: "Several people have used it, but no one really samples The Meters anymore because they've kind of been exhausted."

Kon: "That's a good one, you cant go wrong with the Meters. The Meters to me are just groundbreaking for what they contributed to black music."

Sampled On: Cypress Hill "The Phuncky Feel One" (1991)

29. James Brown "Mind Power" (1973)

Producer: James Brown
Album: The Payback
Label: Polydor

Amir: "A great record on its own-the lyrics are very conscious for that time. But the person that used it the best and really established themselves as a producer was Jay Dee, when he used it for the remix to De La Soul's 'Stakes Is High.' I thought that was really dope, the way the sample was flipped. Everyone knows James Brown samples, but I think that's the best way he's been used in recent history."

Sampled On: De La Soul f/ Mos Def & Truth Enola "Stakes Is High (Remix)" (1996)

28. Manzel "Space Funk" (1976)

Producer: Manzel Bush, Shad O'Shea
Album: N/A
Label: Fraternity

Amir: "Manzel was the other group that Paul C, Large Professor were sampling in the '80s. It's a b-boy jam, it's good for uprocking. High tempo BPM kind of song. I like to spin it, and hear when I'm out."

Kon: "Manzel is the shit! 'Midnight Theme,' 'Space Funk,' that's my kind of shit. It's kinda like fusion, snappy drums, with like synth bass and great arrangements. If you don't like that record then I don't know what's wrong with you."

Sampled On: Eric B. & Rakim "The R" (1988)

27. Bernard Wright "Haboglabotribin'" (1979)

Producer: Dave Grusin (and/or) Larry Rosen
Album: 'Nard
Label: Arista, GRP

Amir: "That's one of the big Dr. Dre hits right there. Bernard Wright was an ill artist on his own. He only had 2 or 3 albums, but they were all pretty good."

Kon: "Bernard Wright had a connection to Weldon Irvine and Don Blackman. They all came from Jamaica, Queens, so does Tom Brown. But that's an easy record to get for the most part, but I also put that as pick in Wax Poetics as one of my all-time favorite records. Bernard Wright was a young wiz kid, he was 17 years old. He was a child prodigy piano player and he got together with these older cats and it became what it is."

Sampled On: Snoop Doggy Dogg "Gz and Hustlas" (1993)

26. Kool and the Gang "Who's Gonna Take the Weight" (1970)

Producer: Gene Redd
Album: Live At The Sex Machine
Label: De-Lite

Amir: "People used that in the late '80s/early '90s. The bassline. There's so many different parts of that song that have been sampled by so many different people. I'm sure, to this day, there's another part of that song that can be sampled. It's that ill."

Kon: "I once read James Brown said that the only other band that's as good as his band is Kool and the Gang. They're the shit."

Sampled On: A Tribe Called Quest "Oh My God" (1993)

25. Ronnie Foster "Mystic Brew" (1972)

Producer: Dr. George Butler
Album: The Two Headed Freap
Label: Blue Note

Amir: "When Tribe used it on Midnight Marauders, people were flipping out wanting to know what it was. Even today that's not an expensive record, but you'll never see an original of that Ronnie Foster record, for some reason. I don't know why that is. You'd think that since you never see it would be mad expensive, but it's only like $30."

Kon: "That is A Tribe Called Quest 'Electric Relaxation,' and that's also a cool sample because the time signature is in 3's."

Sampled On: A Tribe Called Quest "Electric Relaxation" (1993)

24. Ray Bryant "Up Above the Rock" (1968)

Producer: Richard Evans
Album: Up Above The Rock
Label: Cadet

Amir: "Ray Bryant is a jazz guy, that's a big hit that builds. It starts off with drums, baseline, pianos. Kool G Rap used it for a single from his third album."

Kon: "That record is so hard, such an ill record. A long time ago, I was doing a gig, playing records at an MF Doom show-I was the DJ. Now I have known Doom before people knew him as Doom-I first met him in 1990 when he was with KMD. So, I'm playing the Ray Bryant joint and Doom just flips like, 'Oh my God, Kon, I need that record!' And I'm like, 'Hell no, I'm not giving you this record.' He's like, 'C'mon, please, please I need it. I need to sample it, I'll give you production credit.' I'm like, 'Man, go find it. No disrespect, but I'm not giving you my record, I need it!' That's how good that record is. [Laughs.]"

Sampled On: Kool G Rap & DJ Polo "On The Run (Untouchable Remix)" (1992)

23. Minnie Ripperton "Inside My Love" (1975)

Producer: Stewart Levine, Minnie Riperton, Richard Rudolph
Album: Adventures In Paradise
Label: Epic

Kon: "That was a record that I used to hear as a little kid, and then Tribe used it for 'Lyrics to Go,' and a couple of other people used it as well. But that is Minnie Ripperton, an amazing voice. If readers are reading this and they don't know who she is...if they listen to Mariah Carey...there would be no Mariah Carey without Minnie Ripperton."

Sampled On: A Tribe Called Quest "Lyrics To Go" (1993)

22. The 24-Carat Black "Ghetto: Misfortune's Wealth" (1973)

Producer: Dale O. Warren
Album: Ghetto: Misfortune's Wealth
Label: Enterprise

Amir: "That was a huge song for Rakim, that sample is bananas-instantly recognizable. Before Eric B. or Large Professor sampled it, that was a rare, sought-after record, but even more so afterwards."

Kon: "Eric B. and Rakim used that, and if I'm not mistaken, that was an un-credited production by Large Professor. When I first heard that, I just lost it. That record was just a moody, deep record...classic."

Sampled On: Eric B. & Rakim "In The Ghetto" (1990)

21. Tom Scott and The California Dreamers "Today" (1967)

Producer: Bob Thiele
Album: The Honeysuckle Breeze
Label: Impulse!

Amir: "'They Reminisce Over You'-you could throw that on for a bunch of 14-year-olds and they'll be like, 'Oh, my God.' That did a lot for Pete Rock's reputation as a producer. That's just huge."

Kon: "I believe that's a cover of a Jefferson Airplane song, but Pete Rock really flipped that. That's one of the perfect examples of marriage between the mood, the MC, and just how the beat went."

Sampled On: Pete Rock & CL Smooth "They Reminice Over You (T.R.O.Y.)" (1992)

20. Weldon Irvine "We Gettin' Down" (1975)

Producer: Weldon Irvine
Album: Spirit Man
Label: RCA Victor

Kon: "That's A Tribe Called Quest's sample for 'Award Tour.' They slowed it way down. Weldon Irvine is a tragic story-he blew his brains out on the New Jersey Turnpike in the early part of this decade. I think at the time, he was teaching Q-Tip how to play keys, and he also played on one of my favorite Mos Def records, 'Umi Says.'"

Sampled On: A Tribe Called Quest "Award Tour" (1993)

19. Gwen McCrae "90% of Me is You" (1975)

Producer: Steve Alaimo
Album: Gwen McCrae
Label: Cat

Amir: "Gwen McCrae had some disco hits in the late '70s, early '80s, but unless you were a hardcore soul collector, you wouldn't know who she was. A lot of hip hop producers didn't know her until Large Professor put them onto her."

Kon: "Classic, crazy record, Miami soul. Haunting. From the wah-wah guitar to the string, which was used for Main Source 'Just Hangin' Out.' Then also there is another version by Vanessa Kendricks that had completely different arrangements. You can kind of grab things in a different way if you were to sample it, and that's the rarer of the two. Same label same guy, Henry Stone owns all of it. But anyone who knows anything about hip-hop would know that record if you drop it."

Sampled On: Main Source "Just Hangin' Out" (1990)

18. Jack Wilkins "Red Clay" (1973)

Producer: Bob Shad
Album: Windows
Label: Mainstream

Amir: "Everyone wanted to know what it was. When people found out it was Jack Wilkins, they realized there's another ill version out there. That's when collectors like myself started looking for alternate versions of songs."

Kon: "That's a cover of a Freddie Hubbard tune and the Jack Wilkins version is a sample for A Tribe Called Quest 'Sucka Nigga.' A lot of people don't know, because it wasn't listed as Jack Wilkins, but it was."

Sampled On: A Tribe Called Quest "Sucka Nigga" (1993)

17. Billy Brooks "Forty Days" (1974)

Producer: Ray Charles, Billy Brooks
Album: Windows Of The Mind
Label: Crossover

Amir: "That's a sample for 'Luck Of Lucien' off the first Tribe album. No one had ever heard of Billy Brooks. When I had actually found the record it was on a label started by Ray Charles called Crossover, one of the few records on that label. It goes for a lot of money, because you don't see it a lot. It's such an infectious sample, you can't deny that. After hearing it on that Tribe song, you need to know what it is."

Kon: "Straight record in general, a real distinct groove on that one. Havoc from Mobb Deep rhymed over it again recently on 'I'm A Boss.'"

Sampled On: A Tribe Called Quest "Luck Of Lucien" (1990)

16. The Heath Brothers "Smilin Billy Suite Pt. II" (1975)

Producer: Jerry Venable
Album: Marchin' On
Label: Strata-East

Amir: "The Beatnuts used that first [on 1994's 'Ya Don't Stop'], then later on Redman used it a couple times. The Beatnuts were famous for finding jazz samples. That was the era after Tribe released the first album, everyone was looking for jazz samples. They came to the next level and brought The Heath Brothers. It's still a talked about record, that's how much influence that sample and The Beatnuts had."

Kon: "That's when jazz in hip-hop was really at his peak. I think what Q-Tip did with that on 'One Love' was amazing. That is a very important record for Nas and one of my favorite ones from Illmatic."

Sampled On: Nas f/ Q-Tip "One Love" (1994)

15. Billy Garner "I Got Some" (1971)

Producer: John Allen, Dave Hamilton
Album: N/A
Label: New Day

Amir: "A lot of collectors, unless you're like a huge collector, most collectors didn't really know that record. That's just an ill drum break. It's just really hard, crispy drums you can't deny."

Kon: "You know that from Gang Starr 'Bust Your Shit,' one of my favorite Gang Starr records of all time. Those drums are crazy. Dilla used those drums too. Those drums bang."

Sampled On: Gang Starr "B.Y.S. (Bust Your Shit)" (1992)

14. Third Guitar "Baby Don't Cry" (1968)

Producer: Jack Taylor
Album: N/A
Label: Rojac

Amir: "When Large Professor used it, people were like, 'What the fuck is that sample?' He was really known for finding a lot of great 45s. That was one of those records that collectors would like to call a face melter. Like it melts your face when you hear it."

Kon: "[Laughs.] That was a record Amir had and he traded for some bullshit, and now that record goes for a lot of money. Actually I think DJ Spinna has Amir's copy, if I'm correct on that one. That's another crazy record and that's the scratching that you hear on Main Source 'Lookin at the Front Door.' But that's a pretty dope record as it is."

Sampled On: Main Source "Lookin' At The Front Door'" (1990)

13. Eugene McDaniels "Jagger the Dagger" (1971)

Producer: Joel Dorn
Album: Headless Heroes Of The Apocalypse
Label: Atlantic

Amir: "It's originally off an interlude on the first Tribe album, another sample that was huge. Eugene McDaniels also wrote Roberta Flack's 'Feel Like Making Love,' and produced for a lot of other people. He had a couple solo albums, that's actually from the Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse album, the beats on that are bananas. That album has been raped for samples. Ever since Tribe used it, everyone else is like, 'I gotta find that album' and they found the other shit on there that was well worth sampling."

Kon: "That record is cool for many reasons. I've never seen it not a promo, I don't think it ever came out commercially. There were a lot of political reasons behind why it got shelved, also heavy racism. 'Jagger the Dagger' was a diss to Mick Jagger from The Rolling Stones.

"Basically, people felt a certain way about his popularity, as an example of white guys playing the blues, rock and soul, which is black music. I guess, at the time, black artists couldn't get the same shake, if you will. But everyone has used that since. Beatnuts used that, Pete Rock flipped the shit outta that...real crazy record."

Sampled On: Gravediggaz "Nowhere To Run, Nowhere To Hide" (1994)

12. Brethren "Outside Love" (1970)

Producer: Brethren, Jay Senter
Album: Brethren
Label: Tiffany

Amir: "That's the biggest drum break of the '90s. If it wasn't the hi-hats, it was the kick or the snare from the song. There were a lot of hip hop records that used it. Once people found what it was after hearing it on the second Gang Starr album, they went to town with that record."

Kon: "Buckwild and Pete Rock sampled the hell out of that. Premier was the first to use that break, though, on the Step in the Arena album for 'Precisely the Right Rhymes.' That was the break he used and that was before anyone. I love that break to this day. Pete Rock used it all over the Main Ingredient LP; he tweaked it in so many different ways. It's not some huge Billy Squire 'Big Beat' break, but it's very distinct."

Sampled On: Gang Starr "Precisely the Right Rhymes" (1991)

11. David McCallum "The Edge" (1967)

Producer: David Axelrod
Album: Music: A Bit More Of Me
Label: Capitol

Kon: "David McCallum was an actor that came out on Capitol, and David Axelrod was a producer for Capitol, and that guy had such a sense of arrangement...a legend. It's an instrumental. That record is nuts. It's rock, it's jazz, it's funky, it's everything.

"It's not really a break, it's a sample. I remember we put that on track before Dre and Snoop and them, Missin' Linx used it for 'Missing In Action.' And that was a good record, but I think Dre and Snoop just bodied that. After that is was a wrap. I think Dre was surrounded by some people who were pretty knowledgeable about records."

Sampled On: Dr. Dre f/ Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg & Kurupt "The Next Episode" (1999)

10. Placebo "Humpty Dumpty" (1971)

Producer: Jean Huysmans
Album: Ball Of Eyes
Label: CBS

Amir: "Placebo is a legendary jazz group from Belgium. Not a lot of people have used that record, because it's super rare. Pete Rock used a piece of it, for this group he was producing for called The UN.

"I had to give him props, because it's not an easy record to get. It's a good song, but not something you'd necessarily want to sample. I don't know he was able to do it. He must have got the beginning and then went on to get something else.

Kon: "That's a record that Amir had doubles of, and we were gonna do a trade. That's like an $800 record to this day. Mock Mouland is the guy behind it. Another record that was light years ahead of its time. It's heavy jazz funk fusion, but it's pretty much like proto-hip-hop, the way the swing is and the shuffle and just how it bangs.

"Heavy clavinet, the Hohner D6 is all over that through little pedals and just got a lot of weirdo, experimental sounds come off that record. Amir sold that to the producer who produced Nelly. You know, the big Grammy, platinum, down south guy. I forget his name, but he is very into records. Amir calls me the next day and is like, 'Yo, you're going to hate me but I sold that record!'"

Sampled On: Pete Rock f/ Roc Marciano & Trife "Give It To Ya'll" (2001)

9. Brian Bennett "Solstice" (1978)

Producer: Brian Bennett
Album: Voyage (A Journey Into Discoid Funk)
Label: DJM

Amir: "Nas used that [on 'Find Ya Wealth']. The reason I chose that was to include Bruton Library records and European musicians people were getting into. They were made for soundtracks for shows or movies, these records were not supposed to be sold. They were supposed to be given to studios. With the world becoming digital, the studios and libraries got rid of a lot of these records. That was a perfect example of the library Euro-jazz funk age."

Kon: "That was one that had everyone trippin'. I think Alchemist used it. That appeared twice. That appeared on Brian Bennett's album but before that it appeared on a Bruton Library. So there are 2 releases of that, and I had both. This kid at the time-he was a lot younger than me at the time, but he's still my boy-he was getting into digging and he came up on a whole bunch of crazy really rare records.

"He came up on some original Weldon Irvine on his own private label. So this kid at the time didn't give a shit about that, he was like 'I don't want this shit, this shit don't have no samples on it, this sucks.' I gladly traded one of my extra Brian Bennett records for that Weldon Irvine record. After years went by my boy was like, 'I was such a dumbass.' I get a kick out of that."

Sampled On: The High & Mighty f/ Defari & Evidence "Top Prospects" (1999)

8. David Axelrod "A Divine Image" (1969)

Producer: David Axelrod
Album: Song of Experience
Label: Capitol

Amir: "T-Ray, who worked with D.I.T.C, Sho Biz and all those guys, he produced 'Take 'Em to War' for Kool G Rap's 4,5,6. It's a real, dark sinister record. You can't help but have an evil face on when you listen to the record."

Kon: "Just like so many Axelrod songs, that first listen makes you wanna run to the sampler or beatmeaker. You don't hear anything to this day that sounds like David Axelrod."

Sampled On: Kool G Rap f/ B1 & MF Grimm "Take 'Em to War" (1995)

7. Monty Alexander "Love and Happiness" (1974)

6. Richard "Popcorn" Wylie "Both Ends Against The Middle" (1974)

Producer: McKinley Jackson
Album: Extrasensory Perception
Label: ABC

Amir: "Everyone in the '80s was using 'Funky President' and the usual drums. When people really starting exploring this shit and getting into rock and jazz, drums became a very important part of hip hop. I used to criticize dudes, on some elitist shit, who were still using James Brown drums in the '90s."

Kon: "That's a great drum break. That song's cool, but to me it's all about the LP cut on there called 'Georgia After Hours.' You can call it disco, but it's a deep cut...kinda late night, but It's about what goes on in Georgia after every thing closes. It's an LP cut only."

Sampled On: Diamond D f/ Don Barron "MC Iz My Ambition" (1997)

5. Bob Azzam and His Orchestra "Rain, Rain, Go Away" (1968)

Producer: Bob Azzam
Album: New Sounds
Label: Columbia, EMI

Amir: "I remember being at the record shows, seeing Buckwild and everyone pay $300, $500 for that record. It was crazy, people were fighting for that record. It's one of the illest drum breaks."

Kon: "A guy from Boston named Bob Gibson, who taught me a lot, pretty much supplied a lot of records that were sampled for some of the most prolific hip-hop albums of the '90s, like Diamond D's Stunts, Blunts, some Tribe stuff. He used to sell at the Roosevelt shows. He was a record dealer and a collector-that guy was really responsible for breaking a lot of drums that no one had known yet. Like the Giant drums the Power of Zeus drums.

"But the Bob Azzam drums, that was a pretty rare record, it still is. Buckwild chopped those drums up nice. When sampling was the way of making hip-hop records, and drums actually mattered to producers, when you had to come with different drums and they had to bang and be hard to get...that was probably number one on the list. A lot of people wanted that record."

Sampled On: Artifacts f/ Busta Rhymes "C'mon Wit Da Get Down (Remix)" (1994)

4. The J.B.'s "The Grunt" (1970)

Producer: James Brown
Album: Food For Thought
Label: King, People

Kon: "There has always been a debate on who came first with that record, The Isley Brothers or The J.B.'s. Obviously, it's Public Enemy's sample. They flipped it and put it backwards, also Ultramagnetic used it and Show and A.G. used it. Great record."

Sampled On: Public Enemy "Rebel Without A Pause" (1987)

3. Clyde McPhatter "The Mixed Up Cup" (1970)

Producer: Clyde McPhatter
Album: Welcome Home
Label: Decca

Amir: "Clyde McPhatter was a doo-wop, then later a rhythm and blues artist-whoever found that record first, to be able to flip it like that, to me that was genius, because you're looking outside of the normal R&B and soul and funk. In the '90s, cats were looking for all kinds of different stuff; this kind of represented that era for me. Those drums were all over hip-hop in the '90s."

Kon: "A really great break, a record that was sought after specifically for the drums. The Beatnuts used it, I myself have used it, No I.D has used for Common."

Sampled On: Nas f/ Sadat X "One Love (One L Remix)" (1994)

2. Les Demerle "A Day In The Life" (1973)

Producer: Juggy Murray
Album: Spectrum
Label: United Artists

Amir: "Back when 'Time's Up' was a humongous song in hip hop, I remember everyone was like, 'What is that record?' I chose some of the records because of the impact that the sample had on hip- hop-it drove people to collect music or look for that artist and into that type of genre."

Kon: "That's OC's 'Time's Up,' which was pretty much a loop of this instrumental cover of the Beatles song, done in a very different way. I am a big fan of covers provided they do something different. I don't wanna hear a cover that's almost identical.

"It's just someone's interpretation of a Beatles record, and it's a crazy one. Les Demerle is a drummer. That's Buckwild making another bonafide classic marriage between emcee and a hot loop, a hot beat."

Sampled On: O.C. "Time's Up" (1994)

1. David Axelrod "Holy Thursday" (1968)

Producer: David Axelrod
Album: Song of Innocence
Label: Capitol

Amir: "After The Beatnuts used  on 'Hit Me With That' in '94, everyone found out who did this song, and it opened up a can of worms."

Kon: "The playing is so in the pocket-the bassist he used to use in his sessions was Carol Kaye, a female bassist, and her sound was nuts. She really had some chops and she still does stuff today. Axelrod just kicked ass. It was kind of experimental and it had to do with religion. Back in the 90's, everybody was on David Axelrod's nuts. That guy deserves it though. That dude does heavy, moody-ass ill shit."

Sampled On: Lil Wayne "Dr. Carter" (2008)

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