A History of Otis Redding Samples in Hip-Hop

Otis Redding is one of the greatest singers ever. His role in soul music and R&B is legendary. Sadly, he died at the age of 25 in a tragic airplane accident en route to a show in Wisconsin. One of his most well-known singles, "(Sittin' On) The Dock of The Bay," became the very first posthumous record to reach No. 1 on the Hot 100.

His mark on music will never be forgotten and with the release of the Watch The Throne single "Otis" last summer, Kanye West and Jay-Z introduced the icon to an entirely new generation. However, looking back, they were not the first nor the last to sample Redding's work.

Artists like Slick Rick, EPMD, Wu-Tang Clan, and Grand Puba are just a few of many musicians who've released records that sample Redding's work. Take a look at our rundown of the best Otis Redding samples and learn a little hip-hop history in process. [Otis Scream]

Written by Lauren Nostro (@LAURENcynthia) and Max Goldberg (@goopygold)

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Album: Hot, Cool & Vicious
Producer: Hurby "Love Bug" Azor
Label: Next Plateau Records

Samples: "Tramp" (1967)

Salt-N-Pepa and producer Hurby Azor remixed the fiery “Tramp” duet of Redding and Carla Thomas into a early '90s hip-hop/dance, female empowering/advising duet on their debut album Hot, Cool & Vicious. The female trio uses the sample of Carla Thomas saying “Tramp” throughout the track as well as the melody and beat of the original.

Album: Bust It
Producer: Ivan Hampden
Label: Urban Rock Records

Samples: "(Sittin' On) the Dock of the Bay" (1968)

The DBL Crew starts off their "Bust It" with an interlude that samples Otis whistling at the end of "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay" in a chopped and screwed way, distorting the original sound. While other samples of his whistling are used at the end of songs as a tribute to the original, DBL flipped things up and started off with Otis' soulful whistling.

Album: Got To Be Tough
Producer: MC Shy D
Label: Luke Skywalker Records

Samples: "(Sittin' On) the Dock of the Bay" (1968)

MC Shy D samples the whistling off Otis' "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay" to finish out his track, in a style much similar to the one Otis used two decades prior.

Album: In Control, Volume 1
Producer: Marley Marl
Label: Cold Chillin'/Warner Bros.

Samples: "Hard to Handle" (1968)

Marley Marl, one of hip-hop’s legendary superproducers, released “The Symphony” on In Control, Vol.1 as an incredibly stacked posse cut. Marley Marl sampled the song “Hard to Handle” which was released posthumously in 1968 off The Immortal Otis Redding. “The Symphony” directly uses the five-step ascension and descension off the original track to showcase the talents of the Juice Crew.

Album: Strictly Business
Producer: EPMD
Label: Fresh Records/Sleeping Bag Records/Priority/EMI Records

Samples: "Nobody Knows You (When You're Down and Out)" (1966)

"Nobody Knows You (When You're Down and Out)" is an ancient blues song that has been covered by everybody. Seriously though, there are hundreds of versions by everyone from Otis Redding and Sam Cooke to Rod Stewart and Liza Minelli. Legendary hip-hop group EPMD uses a sped-up, funked-out, scratched-on version of Otis's take on the record for "Let the Funk Flow" on their debut album.

Album: Strictly Business
Producer: EPMD
Label: Fresh Records/Sleeping Bag Records/Priority/EMI Records

Samples: "Let Me Come on Home" (1968)

Erick Sermon and Parish Smith had to go back to the well and sample Otis Redding again for another track off of Strictly Business. This time, the duo snags the horns from "Let Me Come On Home" for their instructional dance track "The Steve Martin." EPMD kicks rhymes about their new favorite dance. If their verses aren't helpful enough, let this dude show you how it's done.

Album: Born To Be WIld
Producer: Marley Marl
Label: Traffic Entertainment Group

Samples: "Let Me Come on Home" (1968)

On his second album, Born to Be Wild, MC Shan rhymes over Redding’s “Let Me Come On Home” on “Never Rock A Party.” Shan rhymes effortlessly over the revamped beat produced by Marley Marl, utilizing the same piano chords which sound octaves lower on the track.

Album: 3 Feet High and Rising
Producer: Prince Paul/De La Soul
Label: Tommy Boy/Warner Bros Records

Samples: "(Sittin' On) the Dock of the Bay" (1968)

De La Soul’s 3 Feet High and Rising single was groundbreaking at the time for its use of multiple samples. The song incorporates Otis Redding’s whistling from the last 20 seconds of “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” and the guitar and horns from The Mad Lads “Make This Young Lady Mine,” along with guitar, keyboard, and vocals from Steely Dan’s “Peg” and drums from “Sing A Simple Song” by Sly and The Family Stone.

Album: All Hail the Queen
Producer: Prince Paul
Label: Tommy Boy
Samples: "Merry Christmas, Baby" (1967)

When Queen Latifah dropped her debut album All Hail the Queen, she teamed up with De La Soul on “Mamma Gave Birth to the Soul Children” with a sample from Otis Redding’s cover of “Merry Christmas, Baby” originally performed by Johnny Moore's Three Blazers in 1947. Latifah used the Christmas jingle for the chorus along with strong saxophone chords and a lead-in to each De La Soul verse.

Album: The Geto Boys
Producer: Ready Red, Doug King, J. Smith, Bido, Johny C.
Label: Rap-A-Lot Records

Samples: "My Girl" (1965)

It may not have been the co-sign that Nike dreamed of but when The Geto Boys dropped "Read My Nikes," but a sample of Otis' famous "My Girl" can be heard throughout the song.

Album: Take a Look Around
Producer: Marley Marl
Label: Cold Chillin'/Reprise/Warner Bros.

Samples: "Hard to Handle" (1968)

For "For Minus Three," Masta Ace uses the beat and intro from Marley Marl's famous posse cut "Symphony," which sample's Otis' "Hard to Handle." Ace, who appeared on the original "Symphony," adds another couple of verses over the classic beat.

Album: Fruits of Nature
Producer: RNS
Label: Wild Pitch

Samples: "Mr. Pitiful" (1965)

The Ultramagnetic MC's sample the full melody off Otis' "Mr. Pitiful" for the beat of their track, "Swing It To The Area" off Fruits of Nature. The hip-hop duo even stays true to the jazz horns and bass on the track.

Album: Doin' What I Gotta Do
Producer: Doug E. Fresh
Label: Bust It/Capitol/EMI Records

Samples: "(Sittin' On) the Dock of the Bay" (1968)

Doug E. Fresh produced the single “Check It Out” off Doin’ What I Gotta Do, which sampled the whistling from Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of The Bay.” While De La Soul chopped the whistling sample and used it throughout their “Eye Know” single, Doug E. Fresh finished off his track with the whistling much like Redding did on the original.

Album: Dead Serious
Producer: Chris Charity & Derek Lynch
Label: East West

Samples: "The Happy Song (Dum-Dum)" (1968)

On their debut album, Das EFX dropped “Dum Dums,” which pays homage to Otis Redding’s “The Happy Song (Dum-Dum)” with both its title and its sampling of Otis’ chorus on the 1968 single.

Album: Stunts, Blunts and Hip-Hop
Producer: Showbiz & Diamond D
Label: Chemistry/Mercury/PolyGram Records

Samples: "Good to Me" (1966)

On his debut, Diamond D dropped "Step To Me," which samples Otis' "Good To Me," speeding it up into an uptempo soulful melody.

Album: Reel to Reel
Producer: Grand Puba
Label: Elektra

Samples: "Tramp" (1967)

The other Otis Redding sample Grand Puba uses on Reel to Reel is for the song "360 (What Goes Around Comes Around)." While Otis' voice is missing from the track, Puba uses the drums off of Redding and Carla Thomas' 1967 hit.

Album: Reel to Reel
Producer: Grand Puba
Label: Elektra

Samples: "I Love You More Than Words Can Say" (1967)

Grand Puba rose to fame as a member of Brand Nubian. On "Check Tha Resume," he borrows a guitar riff and some of Otis' fine words for the beat and drops knowledge on everything from the Lone Ranger to Bob Marley.

Album: Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
Producer: RZA
Label: Loud

Samples: "Tramp" (1967)

Along with Carla Thomas, Otis Redding covered the 1967 original “Tramp” by Lowell Fulson and changed the solo blues track into a sassy, soulful duet. RZA and O.D.B. sampled the cover for “Da Mystery of Chessboxin” off Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).

Album: Back at Your Ass for the Nine-4
Producer: The 2 Live Crew
Label: Luke Records

Samples: "Hard to Handle" (1968)

Always the contrarians, 2 Live Crew sampled the popular "Hard to Handle" but rather than using the famous opening notes, snagged the drums for their song "Fuck Nigga" off their album Back at Your Ass for the Nine4.

Album: Behind Bars
Producer: Slick Rick
Label: Def Jam/PolyGram Records

Samples: "Tramp" (1967)

Ironically, Slick Rick uses the sample of Otis and Carla Thomas' duet "Tramp" on his "A Love That's True Pt. 1." Slick Rick uses the same conversational singing along with a sample of the melody and Carla saying "Tramp."

Album: The Beatnuts: Street Level
Producer: The Beatnuts
Label: Relativity/Violator

Samples: "Tramp" (1967)

Like Grand Puba, the famous group and production team The Beatnuts swiped the drums off Otis' "Tramp" for a song of their own. They used the drums for the song "Get Funky" from their album Street Level.

Album: The Awakening
Producer: Lord Finesse
Label: Penalty Records

Samples: "Tramp" (1967)

Lord Finesse made headlines this year when he filed a lawsuit against Mac Miller for using the “Hip 2 Da Game” beat on which Finesse sampled Otis Redding’s “Tramp." Finesse chops Thomas’ line “You know what? You wear overalls...” repeatedly on the track, but the beat itself is mostly sampled from Oscar Peterson’s “Dream of You” and James Brown’s “My Thang.”

Album: Ironman
Producer: RZA & True Master
Label: Razor Sharp/Epic Street/Sony Music

Samples: "A Change Is Gonna Come" (1965)

Otis Redding revamped and covered Sam Cooke’s civil rights anthem which True Master sampled on “Fish” off Ghostface’s Ironman album. As for the original cover, Redding released it on Otis Blue, his most successful studio album to date.

Album: Autobiography of Mistachuck
Producer: Mark Harrison & Chuck D
Label: Mercury

Samples: "Good to Me" (1966)

Chuck D goes "way back" for his "No" track, with the sample of Otis' "Good To Me" ballad. The melody is drawn from the original record.

Album: Decade 1994–2004
Producer: Dave Atkinson, Trackmasters
Label: BEC

Samples: "Hard to Handle" (1968)

On The U.M.C's' debut album Fruits of Nature the Staten Island MC's sampled Otis Redding's "Mr. Pitifull" for their track "Swing It to the Area." Underground producer RNS borrows the bassline and sprinkles some of Otis' vocals and the song's guitar throughout the song.

Album: Whitey Ford Sings the Blues
Producer: Everlast
Label: Tommy Boy/Warner Bros Records

Samples: "Hard to Handle" (1968)

For his song "7 Years," Everlast grabs the iconic horns and bassline from "Hard to Handle" and turns it into the intro and backdrop for his own record.

Album: The Rude Awakening
Producer: Steele & Face N Triple Beam
Label: Duck Down Records, Priority Records

Samples: "Don't Mess With Cupid" (1968)

Cocoa Brovaz used the original guitar melody from Otis' "Don't Mess With Cupid" that sounds octaves higher but Otis' impact can be heard on the entire track through the nostalgic beat.

Album: No Said Date
Producer: Mathematics
Label: Nature Sounds

Samples: "Try A Litte Tenderness" (1965)

Long before Kanye and Jay-Z sampled "Try A Little Tenderness," Masta Killa had the sample on his track, complete with Otis' soulful screaming in the background. "D.T.D." used the tension of the build up on the sample throughout the entire track.

Album: Late Registration
Producer: Kanye West
Label: Def Jam/Roc-A-Fella

Samples: "It's Too Late" (1965)

Otis Redding’s take on Chuck Willis’ “It’s Too Late” was featured on The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads and changes the original blues classic into a more soulful jam. The cover was sampled on “Gone” off Kanye’s Late Registration featuring Cam’ron and Consequence, where he chops the track very similarly to Watch The Throne’s “Otis.” The beginning of “Gone” features Otis belting out the chorus in it’s entirety which is later chopped throughout the song, lending Kanye another soulful beat to rhyme on.

Album: More Than Music, Vol. 1
Producer: Duke Da God
Label: Koch Records

Samples: "Hard to Handle" (1968)

Dipset decided to do their thing on their interpretation of DJ Marley Marl's classic posse cut "Symphony." The song samples Otis' classic and oft sampled "Hard to Handle" and he enacts "Symphony" to a tee. Harlem!

Album: Be
Producer: Kanye West
Label: G.O.O.D Music/Geffen

Samples: "Nothing Can Change This Love" (1965)

Common and Kanye teamed up to create one of the best tracks off Common’s sixth album, Be. Kanye samples the piano from Otis Redding’s cover of Sam Cooke’s “Nothing Can Change This Love” for both the chorus and alternating verses. Redding’s cover appeared on The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads with a slower, more romantic version of the bluesy, uptempo original by Cooke.

Album: The Brick: Bodega Chronicles
Producer: Jonyfraze
Label: E1 Music

Samples: "A Change Is Gonna Come" (1965)

Otis' chorus can be heard in full on the beginning of the track and throughout Ortiz's chorus on change.

Album: Watch The Throne
Producer: Kanye West
Label: Def Jam/Roc-A-Fella
Samples: "Try A Litte Tenderness" (1965)

On the second single off Watch The Throne, Kanye sampled “Try A Little Tenderness.” Solely produced by West, the beat is reminiscent of his earlier productions and features the soulful shouting of Redding and a chopped version of the chorus throughout the track. Kanye and Jay play off one another’s verse and never stop for a chorus but it sounds so soulful, don’t you agree?

Album: 4TRK Mind
Producer: Exile
Label: Soulspazm Records

Samples: "That's How Strong My Love Is" (1965)

Exile produced "When Nothings Left" using a sample of Otis' cover on O.V. Wright's "That's How Strong My Love Is." The best part isn't hearing Blu's raps, but hearing him sing along with Otis.

Album: N/A
Producer: Cuzo
Label: Get Money Gang/EMI Records

Samples: "I've Been Loving You Too Long" (1965)

As usual, Twista spins Otis' "I've Been Loving You Too Long" into a fast-paced melody. Twista talks about his love for the streets over a chopped chorus from Otis' original.