Category Archives: Breaks

Joey Badass – Summer Knights

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Lonnie Liston Smith is no stranger to the digging crowd. He’s been sampled frequently for his vibe-heavy, Jazz fusion tracks of the mid-70′s. He’s also worked with several big names in Jazz including Roland Kirk, Gato Barbieri, Stanley Turrentine, and Miles Davis. His track “Summer Nights” was looped for Joey Badass’s intro to his critically acclaimed mixtape 1999.

Joey Badass, of the hip-hop collective Pro Era is taking underground, New York Hip-Hop by storm. His mixtape 1999 put him on the map and is responsible for his fan base exploding. For those that don’t know, I would love to work with him and Pro Era. If you feel like, hit him up on twitter – @joeyBADASS_ and tell him he should work with @illtalbeats!

The track “Summer Knights” produced by Pro Era producer Chuck Strangers loops the beginning of the Lonnie Liston Smith track. Check it out!

Pharoahe Monch – The Truth

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Harvey Mandel isn’t the most famous guitarist in the world, but he should be more well-known than he is. Mandel was a solo artist and was also a member of the group Canned Heat. He performed with the group for the legendary rock concert Woodstock. He also recorded 2 songs with The Rolling Stones. He then went on to record solo albums dabbling in rock/blues/jazz fusion. Most diggers recognize him for the drum break on “Baby Batter“. His track “Cristo Redentor” from the album of the same name was used for Pharoahe Monch’s track “The Truth“.

Pharoahe Monch‘s debut album was released at the height of underground Hip-Hop and the Rawkus-era. It spawned the hit “Simon Says” which eventually had to be removed due to a sample clearance dispute with the composer of the Godzilla theme. “The Truth” was produced by legend Diamond D and featured Common and label-mate Talib Kweli. Check out the OG to see how Diamond flipped it.

Big Shug – The Jig is Up

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Lloyd Price was a 1950′s R&B star with several hits. He changed styles quite frequently throughout his long music career, later making funk and soul. After his business partner was murdered, he moved to Africa and actually helped Don King promote some Muhammad Ali fights!? His track “They Get Down” was used by legend DJ Premier.

Big Shug, one of the members of the Gangstarr Foundation, has a few solo albums and singles with Premo. A little known underground single from 1999, “The Jig Is Up” utilizes the Lloyd Price track. Check it out.

KRS-One – Ova Here

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You may not know the name Clarence Reid but I can bet you know some of his music. He co-wrote Betty Wright‘s huge hit (and sampled classic) “Clean Up Woman“, as well as Gwen McCrae‘s “Rockin’ Chair“. You also might know him for his X-rated alter ego, Blowfly. His track “Nobody But You Babe” was actually a Number 7 R&B charting hit. It was used for KRS-One‘s dis to rapper Nelly “Ova Here“.

Nelly was a pop/rap star at the time when he released “I Am Number 1“. The blastmaster took personal offense to this because a) Nelly was a terrible, commercial rapper – how could HE be number 1? and b) KRS already had a song “Number 1“. They traded some jabs in interviews and both recorded dis tracks. The beef eventually faded into obscurity (along with Nelly’s career). The hard, soul horns at the beginning of Reid’s track were looped for the boom-bap inspired beat for KRS. Check it out.

Camp Lo – Black Connection

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Although he died in 1979, Van McCoy wrote or contributed to almost 700 songs in his 20 year long music career. He’s most known for his commercial disco hit “The Hustle“. The highly talented artist has been sampled quite a few times. One of his best uses is from 90′s hip-hop group, Camp Lo for the track “Black Connection“.

Camp Lo still performs and makes music today; however, their debut album Uptown Saturday Night is regarded as a classic, with most of the reason being beats produced by Ski. Ski’s smooth and soulful approach to beats also provided Jay-Z with several dope tracks on his debut Reasonable Doubt. Ski sped up the intro to McCoy’s “Love is the Answer” for the main loop. Check out this classic.

Benninghoff’s Break

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I really don’t have much info on Benninghoff’s Bad Rock Blues Band. The group released a few albums during the 70′s, all instrumental rock, based on classical compositions. This particular album uses portions of Beethoven’s work. There are actually 3 drum breaks scattered throughout this one, but the best is from “It’s Nota“. The overall sound of the track is very similar to Iron Butterfly‘s “Inna Gadda Da Vida“. The break kicks in at 1:48 – Check it out!

J Dilla – No

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In preparation for the second annual Dilla Day on February 9th, I decided to post up a rare joint for the Dilla heads. “Scented Wind” was originally featured in a mini-documentary by Bling47 and was used for the J Dilla beat “No“. I’m not sure if The Sounds of Love have any other albums, but it’s probably not likely.

The album features a mix of classic pieces by Mozart and Ravel, as well as original compositions by some dude Fred Miller. The tracks are all done with a Moog and and don’t contain any percussion/drums. What makes the album weirder are the “sensual” voices by a woman on top of the Moog. If you see this one, pick it up. Take a listen to see how Dilla flipped it.

Bill Black’s Break

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Bill Black was only in his 40′s when he died of a brain tumor, but he had a very lucrative career. A Memphis native, he got his start playing bass for the one and only Elvis Presley. Bill Black gave Hi Records their first big hit. You most likely recognize Hi Records as Rza’s favorite sample roster including Al Green, Willie Mitchell, and Syl Johnson.

While Bill Black had some less soulful output than his label-mates, Turn On Your Love Light contains lots of 60′s soul hits you might recognize. The track “Turn on Your Love Light” features a short drum break in the intro. There are also 2 small drum loops similar to the intro in the song. The drum kit sounds very similar to the classic break “Smokin’ Cheeba Cheeba” by Harlem Underground Band. Check it out.