In case you don’t know, sampling in music is when an artist or producer reuses a section of a sound recording - normally a snippet of a song, made up of rhythm, melody, speech, or sound effects - in a new recording. And ngl it can go extremely hard. Some artists use sampling as a way of referencing culture, tapping genres, or just proving they know their sh*t, whereas others use such a minute bite of audio that it's almost unnoticeable. Here's some of the best in our opinion - how many did you already know?
"A Lot" by 21 Savage samples "I Love You" by East of Underground
Back in 2018, 21 Savage dropped “A Lot”, a track featuring J. Cole that won him a Grammy for Best Rap Song at the 62nd Awards. If you know your ‘70s R&B though, it’ll sound pretty familiar. That’s because the track samples East of Underground’s 1971 track “I Love You”.
"Bound 2" by Kanye West samples "Sweet Nothin's" by Brenda Lee
Bound 2 (2013), the final track from Ye’s (formerly known as Kanye West) sixth studio album, Yeezus, goes hard for plenty of reasons, and its samples are key. Produced with the help of Tyler, the Creator - who revealed over Twitter that he helped produce the original version along with Hudson Mohawke - the track samples a sound bite of the line “uhuh, honey” from Brenda Song’s "Sweet Nothin’s” (1960).
"What's the Difference" by Dr. Dre feat. Eminem and Xzibit samples "Parce Que Tu Crois" by Charles Aznavour
Dr. Dre might be one the most GOATed producers alive today, and his samples prove it. “What’s the Difference”, a track featuring Eminem and Xzibit from Dre’s second studio album 2001 (1999), samples the brass sounds from a classic tune that your nan probably knows: "Parce Que Tu Crois" by Charles Aznavour.
"Noid" by Tyler, the Creator samples "Nizakupanga Ngozi" by Ngozi Family
One of the biggest albums out this year, Tyler, the Creator’s Chromakopia featured numerous samples but arguably the hardest was on “Noid”. The track sampled both the beat and vocals from “Nizakupanga Ngozi" 1977, a rock song by Zambian group, the Ngozi Family.
"C.R.E.A.M." by Wu-Tang Clan samples "As Long as I've Got You" by The Charmels
Maybe one of the most famous samples on this list is Wu-Tang Clan’s “C.R.E.A.M.” (1993). Their biggest hit actually sampled The Charmels’ 1967 song “As Long as I've Got You”. You’d know it if you heard it.
"Paper Planes" by M.I.A. samples "Straight to Hell" by The Clash
You probably didn’t know that M.I.A.’s hit “Paper Planes” actually samples a pretty recent song, taking the intro of The Clash’s punk anthem “Straight to Hell” (1982). Listening to the audios side by side, their similarities are uncanny.
Hit this link to swipe and see the side by side comparisons of each track with its sample (you know we gotchu):
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