It’s hard not to notice the difference in Amy Winehouse’s appearance on the cover of her 2003 album Frank in comparison to the latest images released of her during her final attempt at a tour earlier this year.  Her untimely death was as equally sad as it was unsurprising.  A fight against substance abuse is a battle often belittled, but the unfortunate reality is this fight has been lost by so many of music’s greatest minds.  And yes, I look at Amy on that level.  In an industry of so many cloned artists Amy Winehouse paved her own way through superior talent and unique style, both things for which I will remember her by.  Frank and Back In Black are offspring that will Live On, Live Long.

Amy Winehouse – Help Yourself

Les Brown feat. Doris Day – You Won’t Be Satisfied

Back with some more slept on material from the sweet 70′s. Judging by Norman Feels’ vocal ability, one would guess that this man would be more well known than he is.  For one this can be attributed to the enormous amount of quality music coming out in that decade, and also the fact that he only released two studio albums (pictured above). The backdrop to his music is dominantly soul, mixed with the perfect amount of funk disguised in the groove.  ”Yes You Did” caught me from the opening few bars, not to mention vocal riffs like 1:53, and the instrumentation in the outro.  Anyway, this girl lost her shot with Norman, yes she did.

Norman Feels – Yes You Did

So Kanye’s “G.O.O.D. Friday” series thus far has featured songs with Jay-Z, Swizz Beats, Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross, and Pusha T, who in my opinion has been spitting straight ether as of late.  Anyway, “Devil In A New Dress” is the only solo joint for Yeezy so far, and coincidentally my favorite.  The soul sample reminds my ears of the first batch of Kanye records I heard, pre College Dropout.  This time around it’s producer Bink on the boards, working the Smokey Robinson sample to perfection.  Bink’s drums are always crack, and in a world dominated by 808′s, the dry snare on “Devil” is the one of the best drum chops I’ve heard in ages.  Threw in another Bink classic, “1-900 Hustler” just in case you thought he was new to this shit.

“Hood phenomenon, the, Lebron-of-rhyme… Hard to be humble when you stuntin’ on a jumbotron…”

Kanye West – Devil In A New Dress (prod. Bink!)

BONUS: Jay-Z ft. Memphis Bleek, Freeway & Beanie Sigel – 1-900-Hustler

Fairly unknown singer/musician Clarence Reid put out a few dope albums in the early 70′s.  Running Water is a great mix of funk and soul with phenomenal instrumentation throughout.  The title track is more on the soulful tip, and is driven by great organ and piano combined with strong horn sections.  The eight minute arrangement rides up and down through different levels of emotion, finally peaking at the end with chants of “the beat is getting stronger”.  Add some rare 70′s into your day, it flows like running water.

Clarence Reid – Like Running Water

Any DJs from the pre-Serato era can most likely relate to thinking in the currency of records; twenty dollars = 4 records.  Throughout high school I was a regular at Music Factory in The Bronx, and somewhere around 11th grade I copped the Mos Def 12″ for “Ms. Fat Booty”, with “Mathematics” on the B-Side.  Since this vinyl was equipped with two exceptionally dope instrumentals along with acapellas for each song, it stayed alive in my practice rotation for years, ultimately becoming on of my favorite records I ever owned.  I was always fascinated with the beats in rap songs, so the first thing I would do when I opened a record was check the credits for the producer.  The B-Side was another Primo classic, and “Ms. Fat Booty” was by a new name to me at that time, Ayotollah.

Producer Ayotollah is a wizard with the samples, and although fairly unknown he has constructed classics for countless New York based MCs like Ghostaface Killah, Guru, Talib Kweli, Cormega, and another Sample Saturday post “My Life” for Styles P.  His sound is largely based on soul samples, like in this case he uses the rare Aretha Franklin single “One Step Ahead.”  He starts “Ms. Fat Booty” with the chorus section of the beat, which is constructed with the 0:53 and 1:21 part of the sample.  Without listening to the original, it would be impossible to tell that this segment was put together with two pieces because of the way they seamlessly flow together.  The verse then comes in using a loop from the 0:36 mark.  Small chops are sprinkled on top to complete the boom-bap masterpiece.  My favorite Mos Def record to date.

Aretha Franklin – One Step Ahead

Mos Def – Ms. Fat Booty

via KevinCaseyMusic and Et Musique Pour Tous

The weather is starting to change in New York City, and we all know what that means… Hoody Season is here, also known to some as Fall.  In a farewell to summer, today we’ll examine “Dear Summer”, the last track off of Memphis Bleek’s album 534.  In an unusual circumstance, the most popular record off Bleek’s album was not a Bleek record.  At this point Hov had “retired” after dropping The Black Album, so this appearance on his protege’s project was a significant look, although it ended up basically out-shining the rest of the album. In the years leading up to Jay’s retirement he had the summer’s on lock. “Dear Summer” is his ode and farewell to the season that had treated him so well, but not without warning other rappers not to test him…

“It’s like when niggas make subliminal records, if it ain’t directly at me I don’t respect it. You don’t really want it with Hov, for the record, I put a lot of careers on hold, you could be next – kid!”

The track was produced by the Megatron Don Just Blaze, who seems to always bring out the best in Jay.  Just makes the most out of the soulful opening bars of Weldon Irvine’s “Morning Sunrise”, basically speeding up the sample and looping the first four measures.  He uses the short snare roll from the beginning of the song, and adds a crunchy kick and natural sounding finger snaps to complete the drums.  I like when producers decide to keep the drums at a natural level, and make them sit lower in the mix.  Combined with the right sample, like in this case, sonically this approach is very effective.  In the end of the record, Just brings in the 0:59 mark of the sample to finish things off.  So that’s a wrap for the summer, I hope everyone enjoyed theirs…but as the weather gets colder, we go harder. (K.Casey/P.Walsh)

Jay-Z – Dear Summer

Weldon Irvine – Morning Sunrise

via KevinCaseyMusic and Et Musique Pour Tous

First off, the Geto Boys album cover is one of the rawest ever. After a long night of drug abuse, member Bushwick Bill shot himself after his girlfriend refused to do so.  This photo was taken after he was brought to the hospital and was used for the album – insane.  On to the music… The Geto Boys are one of the most influential groups in rap history, and along with groups like UGK, put Southern hip-hop on the map.  The group changed members on more than one occasion, but found their most success with members Bushwick Bill, Willie D and Scarface (the real“King of the South”).  In 1992 they released their single “Mind Playing Tricks on Me” which reached number one on the charts and cemented the Geto Boys place in hip-hop history. Packed with paranoia, violence, and hallucinations, the song features some of the haunting storytelling of which the Geto Boys became known for.

The song features a sample from Isaac Hayes’s “Hung Up On My Baby”, a track where Hayes shows off his arrangement and composing ability which made Black Moses one of the greatest musicians ever. Laced with Hayes’s alluring guitar riffs, the Geto Boys turned his gem into a classic of their own.  The sampled record contains so many ill loops, there is enough material to make 5 dope beats, at least.  The Geto Boys use the loop at 0:10 for the main sections of the verses, and then the loop at 0:29 for the hook, which contains a melody catchy enough to whistle along with.  I mean, who’s fucking with Isaac Hayes when it comes to providing samples for classic hip hop records… no one? (P.Walsh / K.Casey)

Isaac Hayes – Hung Up On My Baby

Geto Boys – Mind Playing Tricks On Me

via KevinCaseyMusic and Et Musique Pour Tous

Before Ice Cube was acting in children’s movies, he was the head lyricist of the most notorious hip-hop group to ever do it, N.W.A.  After Cube split from the legendary crew, he launched a successful, and controversial solo career that has featured 9 albums, and countless guest features with every major player in hip-hop. Cube’s versatility has allowed him to remain relevant as hip-hop has drastically evolved since the 1980s.  On “It Was a Good Day”, Cube exhibits another aspect that has made him a legend in the game; storytelling.  Here he explains why this particular rap story was different from the rest…

“The inspiration was my life at the time … I was at the top of the rap game. It was the summer of ’92 and I was in a hotel room, really in a state of euphoria. I had all the money I had dreamed of. I was in a good frame of mind. And I remember thinking, ‘Okay, there’s been the riots, people know I will deal with that. That’s a given. But I rap all this gangsta stuff – what about all the good days I had?”

The Isley Brothers have been sampled on countless records, but “It Was a Good Day” is certainly one of the flyest of the batch.  The sampled song “Footsteps in The Dark” provides a stellar groove right from the beginning of the record, that left little to be done as far as sample manipulation.  The loop is continuous, and along with a few other obscure chops, it provides the appropriate background for a great story.  The lead guitar riff tells a story on its own, and together the sample and lyrics are the perfect match.  Also, can’t forget the visual for this West Coast classic (P. Walsh/K. Casey).

The Isley Brothers – Footsteps in the Dark

Ice Cube – It Was a Good Day

brought to you by KevinCaseyMusic.com and Et Musique Pour Tous

The same day New York City witnessed the fall of the Twin Towers, Jay-Z released his masterpiece The Blueprint. Facing two criminal charges, one for gun possession, the other for assault, as well as beefs with Nas, Prodigy, and Jadakiss, the odds were certainly stacked against Hov. However, as he is known to do, Jay triumphed with his back against the wall and set a new bar for any rapper dropping an album for the next decade. The Blueprint sold 426,000 copies in one of the most chaotic weeks in American history, eventually went double platinum, received an “XXL” rating in XXL Magazine, and a “5 Mic” review in The Source. A certified success.

“One of the greatest poets ever to pick up a mic released his magnum opus in 2001. One retirement and one un-retirement later, it’s still his finest hour.” -Entertainment Weekly

Production wise, The Blueprint is a pure gem, and one of the most perfectly constructed hip-hop albums of all time. During the late 90′s, producers shied away from using samples in their music due to copyright issues and the popularity of synth heavy beats grew.  The Blueprint brought back the sampling sound and established Kanye West and Just Blaze as two of the best producers in the game. On “Momma Loves Me”, the lesser known Bink goes in with a classic Al Green sample and some brilliant drum programming.  I really like how the first eight bars of the record are laid out. First we get to hear the drums on their own, made up of a banging kick and rimshot combo plus a deep 808 every other bar to rattle the system.  Echoes of Al Green chops come in to play on the fifth bar, and then on the seventh we hear the chop that really defines the feel of the beat.  On the vocal end, Hov recalls how he got to where he is and thanks everybody that has helped him along the way, a fitting ending to an epic song-by-song journey through the mind of Jay-Z.

By: Kevin Casey and Pete Walsh.

Al Green – Free At Last

Jay-Z – Momma Loves Me

Brought to you by KevinCaseyMusic.com and Et Musique Pour Tous

Since I left you guys hanging last weekend, I figured I would throw in an extra Sample Saturday Day for you to enjoy.  This comes courtesy of myself and my writing partner in crime, Pete Walsh.  (I see you Roy)

Melvin Bliss, who passed this week, was a relatively obscure and unknown singer during the 1970′s. However, his throwaway B-side, “Synthetic Substitution” became one of the most important records in hip-hop history. The impact of this record on hip-hop is unparalleled. Equipped with an instantly recognizable drum break, the song has been used for over ninety tracks (yes ninety), including popular joints such as Naughty By Nature’s “O.P.P.” and Public Enemy’s “Don’t Believe the Hype”.  Bliss never found great success during the time of his career, and it wasn’t until roughly 20 years later that, to quote the song, “Synthetic Substitution has taken over this land.”

When it came to the “chopping” of this record, there was really not much science to it except to lift the infectious drum break and loop it up to the desired tempo. Among the ninety plus tracks that sampled this break were two classic joints from two classic groups.  First we have the Premo produced “DWYCK”, which is a beat created entirely of these drums and Premier’s signature scratches.  Our second choice to post is the opening track off the almighty 36 Chambers. As you would expect, RZA brings in the break in an unorthodox way, cutting certain kicks out of the sequence to give it his own groove.  No matter how the break was flipped, it always provided for banging drums every time it was used. Melvin Bliss may fade into obscurity in the wide scope, but will remain forever relevant in the hip-hop community.

Melvin Bliss – Synthetic Substitution

Gang Starr – DWYCK

Wu-Tang Clan – Bring Da Ruckus