Here’s Why The Weeknd’s “Tell Your Friends” Sounds So Familiar

The sample has been used by Kanye West, No I.D., Just Blaze, Madlib, and more previously.

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Complex Original

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One of the standout tracks from The Weeknd’s Beauty Behind The Madness is the Kanye West-produced “Tell Your Friends.” The songs sees Abel move away from the brooding synths and dark, downtempo drum production of his signature sound, towards a classic soul sample flip that has Yeezy’s fingerprints all over it. It’s an interesting juxtaposition when you introduce Abel’s prototypical after hours croon to the College Dropout formula, but when the pre-chorus drops, the instrumental starts to sound familiar.

Where have we heard this before?

As it turns out, Kanye West didn’t have to dig too deep in his crates to find the sample for “Tell Your Friends,” because he’d already used it before—over 15 years ago. Before that, No I.D. flipped it, and since, it’s been reworked by the likes of Madlib, Just Blaze, and many more.

Let’s back up a bit, and look at the song that inspired “Tell Your Friends,” along with countless others: “Can’t Stop Loving You” by Soul Dog.

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Soul Dog was the brainchild of Carl Marshall, a funk guitarist born in Independence, LA and active from the mid-’60s to the late-’70s New Orleans scene. After handling axe duties for a group called Sam & the Soul Machine for over 7 years, Carl branched out on his own with Soul Dog, releasing the debut LP, Movin’ On, in 1976. Marshall would follow it up in 1980 with an album under the moniker Carl Marshall & The SDs, but his musical legacy wouldn’t be solidified until years later, when some of the greatest hip-hop producers of our generation discovered the tranquil Nawlins soul vibes of “Can’t Stop Loving You.”

Thanks to our crate digging friends at WhoSampled, we’re able to take a look back at some of the songs that have borrowed bars from Soul Dog’s “Can’t Stop Loving You.”

Common “Hungry” (1997)

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The Madd Rapper “Not The One” (2000)

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Reflection Eternal “Move Somethin’” (2000)

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Declaime “The Movement” f/ Lootpack (2001)

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GZA “Intromental” (2008)

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O.C. & A.G. “Alpha Males” (2009)

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The Game “Undefeated” f/ Busta Rhymes & Marsha Ambrosious (2009)

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Has-Lo & Castle “Famished” (2014)

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The Weeknd “Tell Your Friends” (2015)

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