American Gangster: The Samples

American Gangster: The Samples American Gangster is the most talked about album on the net right now and the CD hasn’t even been released to stores yet! For those of you buried under a rock, it comes out this Tuesday. Go grab a copy! If you’re unsure, don’t be; go read my review. This is quality work that Jay-Z has put out and I think it’ll stay up there with the likes of The Black Album and Reasonable Doubt.

Just to go off topic for a sec, if you have not seen the film that inspired this album, go check it out! I saw American Gangster yesterday and it was the best movie I have seen in a long time. Great story; in the same league as Scarface, The Godfather, and Carlito’s Way.

Back to the album, Jay hasn’t had an album this soulful since The Blueprint and we all know that this is due to the producers and the samples behind their work. This is when we have to dig in the crates and find those special songs that inspired the new. For American Gangster, we had to dig deep. Yeah, there are some nice gems from Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield; but have you ever heard of the Menahan Street Band or Little Beaver? I didn’t think so. Hip hop is today’s soul music. There’s a reason they call it soul music, because it feels good to the soul. The follow songs are the roots of American Gangster.

**Edit: Looks like these samples have been making their way around the Net. Here are a few links to download these in full in case you want more than just the snippets:

http://www.attorneyst.com/?p=700

http://www.badongo.com/file/5038024

http://rapidshare.com/files/68015989/Jay-Z2007HipHopIsReadAmericanGangsterTheSamples.zip

Sample:
“New Earth” by Hank Marvin
No Preview Available

Used in:
“Pray” (produced by Diddy, LV & Sean C)
No Preview Available

Marvin Gaye - I Want You (1976)
Sample:
“Soon I’ll Be Loving You Again” by Marvin Gaye
Preview

Used in:
“American Dreamin’” (produced by Diddy, LV & Sean C, co-produced by Mario Winans)
Preview

Beastie Boys - Paul’s Boutique (1989)
Sample:
“B-Boy Bouillabaisse” by the Beastie Boys
Preview

Used in:
“Hello Brooklyn 2.0” (produced by Bigg D)
Preview

Barry White - Just Another Way To Say I Love You (1975)
Sample:
“Love Serenade (Part 1)” by Barry White
Preview

Used in:
“No Hook” (produced by Diddy, LV & Sean C)
Preview

Menahan Street Band - Make The Road By Walking
Sample:
“Make The Road By Walking” by Menahan Street Band
Preview

Used in:
“Roc Boys (and the winner is…)” (produced by Diddy, LV & Sean C)
Preview

Sample:
“Does Your Mama Know” by Rudy Love and The Love Family
No Preview Available

Used in:
“Sweet” (produced by Diddy, LV & Sean C)
No Preview Available

Little Beaver - Party Down (1975)
Sample:
“Get Into The Party Life” by Little Beaver
Preview

Used in:
“Party Life” (produced by Diddy, LV & Sean C)
Preview

The Isley Brothers - Between The Sheets (1983)
Sample:
“Between The Sheets” by The Isley Brothers
Preview

Used in:
“Ignorant Shit” (produced by Just Blaze)
Preview

Sample:
“The Love We Share Is The Greatest of Them All” by Tom Brock
Preview

Used in:
“Say Hello” (produced by DJ Toomp)
Preview

Sample:
“Funky Thing (Part 1)” by Larry Ellis & The Black Hammer
Preview

Used in:
“Success” (produced by No I.D., co-produced by Jermaine Dupri)
Preview

The Dramatics - A Dramatic Experience (1973)
Sample:
“Fell For You” by The Dramatics
Preview

Used in:
“Fallin’” (produced by Jermaine Dupri, co-produced by No I.D.)
Preview

En Vogue - Born To Sing (1990)
Interpolation:
“Hold On” by En Vogue
Preview

Used in:
“Blue Magic” (produced by The Neptunes)
Preview

Curtis Mayfield - Short Eyes (1977)
Sample:
“Short Eyes” by Curtis Mayfield
Preview

Used in:
“American Gangster” (produced by Just Blaze)
Preview

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Posted in Diggin' In Da Crates

http://hiphopisread.blogspot.com/ Ivan

Great post!

http://hiphopisread.blogspot.com/2007/11/jay-z-american-gangster-samples.html

;-D
suave

DAMN I FUCK WITH JAY Z BUT I SWEAR ALMOST EVERY EAST COAST PRODUCER USES SAMPLES!! WHERE IS THE ORIGINALITY?? AND PEOPLE SAY WHACK RAPPERS LIKE SOULJA BOI KILLED HIP HOP, NO THE PRODUCERS GETTING LAZY AND REMAKING CLASSIC SONGS IS WHAT DID IT…..I HAVE LITTLE TO NO RESPECT FOR MORE THAN 75% OF THE PRODUCERS ON THIS CD. OUT OF ALL OF THEM DJ TOOMP IS THE HOTTEST…SHIT IS CRAZY….THEY’RE GETTING PAID OFF OTHER PEOPLE’S HARD WORK LOL! LONG LIVE HIP HOP
Thomas

Suave- Sampling is the backbone of Hip-Hop. All of the classic records whether east, west, north, south have taken something from other artist and reworked it. Dr. Dre samples, so did Pimp C, so does Scarface, DJ Toomp (he has used the same sample countless times…ex. Donny Hathaway for Jeezy and T.I. lead singles).

Sampling is Hip-Hop. When Hip-Hop got away from sampling it got crazy. Just a thought.
Suave

Thomas -

Really?? So all the pioneers of the game MADE HIP HOP by taking other peoples hits and re-making them??? no, sampling is a way to pay homage, but there is no need to pay this mush homage!! AG is one of the best albums out in a looooong time but all this un-originality is killing me. its like what lupe said “something something something (stack that cheese) he couldn’t think of nothing..” sampling is also a tool used for when artist get lazy!! hip hop was founded on originality because it is in itself ORIGINAL!! internet people kill me thinking they are soooooo correct all the time lol if u were, then you would have my job!

“Sampling is Hip-Hop. When Hip-Hop got away from sampling it got crazy. Just a thought.”

that implies that u dont think hip hop can stand on its on foundation. i can see you are on of those “hip hop is dead” assholes. if ppl wanna say shit like that, then why cant some of the powerhouses in hip hop revive it with one good verse??? i mean they blame soulja boy for killing it!!! how??? did he buy his own album 3 million times?? no! hip hop is more than east coast music, the instant that the south claimed hip hop it supposedly died!! lol well if it did, it faked its death above the mason-dixon line and is the modern day Machiavelli and lives in the south now……

not just a thought, but the truth
Material_Gurl

w0w, kud0z 4 Su@v3!

=) i l0v3 it wh3n peoplz kick kn0wl3dg3. LoL
http://kevinnottingham.com Kevin

I’m gonna have to stick with Thomas on this one. First of all, from your original post, Suave, it sounds as if you were attacking east coast producers because of their use of sampling. Thomas was right on when he said sampling is the foundation of hip hop. Know your history! One of the first hip hop songs recorded (not the first, but one of them), Rapper’s Delight, not only sampled but basically ripped Chic’s “Good Times”.

And sampling is not just an east coast thing. For old school, look at Dre and N.W.A. on the west coast and 2 Live Crew in the south… just a couple of blatant examples.

I’m not saying you need to sample to make a good hip hop record, but since it has always been the foundation of hip hop it’s mostly what us old-heads know and recognize as hip hop.

I may be repeating a lot of what Thomas already said, but it is what it is. Hip hop didn’t die, it multiplied… it expanded; you have different flavors now. Pick your flavor.
Thomas

Suave-

You really didn’t read my comment; it doesn’t appear so. By your misguided statements it appears to me you have a limited understanding of basic Hip-Hop 101. Please refer to this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hip_hop read up on the basics and we can discuss this later.

Contrary to popular belief you didn’t kick any KnOwLeDgE or the “Truth”, but made yourself seem uniformed about this music you seem passionate about.

I think the issue came when I mentioned that DJ Toomp samples and used the same sample twice for two separate artists. Well he did! That’s fact. A couple of links for you: http://rapcredits.com/wiki/King
http://rapcredits.com/wiki/The_Inspiration
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/truth
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fact
I think you and your co-signer have Truth and Fact mixed up, so there are bonus link for you all!

Not once in the comment did I say anything negative about any particular artist or region. I responded to what you stated “WHERE IS THE ORIGINALITY?? AND PEOPLE SAY WHACK RAPPERS LIKE SOULJA BOI KILLED HIP HOP, NO THE PRODUCERS GETTING LAZY AND REMAKING CLASSIC SONGS IS WHAT DID IT”. Hip hop was built off of break beats. Period.

To wrap this up.

1. “i mean they blame soulja boy for killing it!!! how??? did he buy his own album 3 million times??
I didn’t mention Soulja Boy in my comment, where did he come from? To answer your question Soulja Boy didn’t buy 3 million of his own records…12-15 year old kids did. I didn’t because I’m a grown man and Soulja Boy isn’t my cup of tea. I don’t think he is destroying anything. I just don’t like him or the music he makes. Common said “If I don’t like, I don’t like, it don’t mean I’m hatin’” or something like that.

2. “i can see you are on[e] of those “hip hop is dead” assholes.”
ASSumption I discussed this above. Please refer back.

3. “people kill me thinking they are soooooo correct all the time lol if u were, then you would have my job!”
First, I’m a regular Joe. I’m not in the music industry, a producer, blogger, or anything that has to do with music other than; 1. clicking my mouse to download something or going to Best Buy to cop the latest release. I grew up with this music. Am I a lover of East coast music…yes. I’m from Maryland I grew up with that Boom Bap. That’s what I know and love. I have expanded my interest over the years to enjoy music from other region/artist, but when I get disappointed in the current music I’m listening to I’m going back to 1992 through 1996 to get that love back.
What “job” do you have? I’ll say this….just because you have some sort of “title” doesn’t mean your qualified or competent at what you do.

4. Do the KnOwLeDgE. Last bit of house keeping. TYPING IN ALL CAPS IS NOT PROPER INTERNET ETIQUETTE.
derek simmons

please, let me get in on this conversation,and say to that brother suave, please do your homework before tackling this subject, it is very sensitive to the fathers who created it
hip hop was not a known genre first of all, therefore the tools were limited,somewhat transformed as we progressed: it consisted of old records,turntables,microphones,and
a sound system….lets not forget the human contributions like: dee jaying, emceeing,b boying
( breakdacing ), grafitti art….these were the resources that created the most ingenius form of
art, since the creation of sound…..you may be saying who am i to talk this way, well, i would rather prefer to walk this way, since i am a 30 year veteran,and still active, so when you speak of this passion of yours, please have enough knowledge to enlighten the ones that will follow your footsteps, just as we do…….keep the truth alive !!!!

peace and blessings….GEE ROCK & THA CND COALITION

American Gangster: The Samples

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