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So you think you’re a member of the BeyHive? But do you know the samples and songs BEHIND Beyoncé’s biggest hits? No worries, we’ve got you covered. It’s September 4th – Queen Bey’s birthday and this year we thought we’d do something special that would be both entertaining and educational. A good friend to the site, AskKobie ™ AKA Kobie Brown is the Senior Director, BA / Music Licensing at Sony Music and has extensive knowledge about the history of your favorite songwriters, samples and songs. If you don’t know already, a sample is the reuse of a portion of a sound recording (the actual record, CD, wav file or link) or a composition (replaying or re-singing) of a pre-existing record or song. Sometimes, the same sample can launch, revitalize or further advance several artists or producers careers over any number of years — a great example of this is Mtume’s “Juicy Fruit” which was released in 1983 and has since been used to launch Notorious B.I.G. to the masses in 1994 and create hits for Keyshia Cole “Let It Go feat. Missy Elliot and Lil’ Kim” and Tamar Braxton among others. We turned to AskKobie ™ for a look at a few of the samples that have provided part of the musical foundation for Beyonce over the past two decades.
The first time most of the world heard Beyoncé was alongside Destiny’s Child for “No, No, No (PT 2)”… Check out the sample that laid the foundation.
DESTINY’S CHILD “NO, NO, NO (PT2)” SAMPLING “STRANGE GAMES &THINGS” BY LOVE UNLIMITED ORCHESTRA
Here’s what Wyclef told AskKobie ™ about his use of the Love Unlimited Orchestra sample:
“As a producer my favorite thing was to study those who came before me and when it comes to the sexy grooves, Barry White had everybody beat. Then, my background, with not only the church choir, but as a music director at a young age, and someone who just loves music; Destiny’s Child just reminded me of the young Supremes at the time. That’s sexy like Barry, so I knew they could go from a dream to becoming the young Supremes.”
– Wyclef Jean Producer and featured artist on “No, No, No (Part 2)”
For those who don’t already know, in addition to his own solo career, Barry White was also responsible for the discovery of Tom Brock, whose only album yielded, “There’s Nothing In This World That Can Stop Me From Loving You”, which later provided the foundation for Jay-Z’s “Girls, Girls, Girls” ; as well as Love Unlimited, a female trio whose song “He’s All I Got” later became the bed of “My Boo” by Usher feat. Alicia Keys (originally Nelly). When tasked with creating a remix for “No, No, No”, Destiny’s Child debut single, artist and producer Wyclef Jean and his production crew, which included Che Pope, called upon a sample of the Love Unlimited Orchestra, a 40-piece orchestra created by Barry White in the 70s, to provide the foundation of a track that helped further cement Destiny’s Child as a household name.
Now that’s an incredible lesson in music history riiight?!
Hit the flip for more background on Bey’s greatest samples.
BEYONCE FEAT. JAY Z “CRAZY IN LOVE” SAMPLING “ARE YOU MY WOMAN? (TELL ME SO)” BY THE CHI-LITES
Here’s what Rich Harrison told AskKobie ™ about his use of The Chi-Lites sample:
“I randomly came across the Chi-Lites song in a crate of records I borrowed from a friend who deejays. I’d been thru the album playlist once or twice in the months before creating the track for “Crazy in Love”, and it didn’t stand out to me at first. You can go thru that crate or thru that playlist multiple times, and you may not hear anything helpful or that resonates until a moment that shifts your emotions. The songs don’t change, you do.”
– Rich Harrison / Producer and co-writer of “Crazy in Love feat Jay Z”
When discussing samples, AskKobie ™ made a point to credit the rich musical legacy that hails from the city of Chicago. The city is the home of Curtis Mayfield whose hits have been influential for several generations. AskKobie ™ points out that without Mayfield, we wouldn’t have falsettos by Pharrell! Mayfield grew up in Chicago’s notorious Cabrini-Green projects (location of the tv series Good Times) with a friend and high school classmate named Major Lance. Mayfield eventually helped craft the hits “Um, Um, Um, Um, Um” for Lance, who is the late father of Atlanta’s current mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms.
Another important group out of Chicago was the Chi-Lites, who wanted to name themselves the Hi-Lites, but opted on an homage to their hometown, Chicago or the Chi, once they discovered that name was taken. Their more popular songs , “Have You Seen Her” and “Oh Girl” are played continuously on the radio and “Oh Girl” provides the perfect background in season 4 of The Sopranos when Tony goes emo-thug. When Rich Harrison found a less popular song by the group with a conga rhythm and a cascading horn arrangement they reminded him of the sounds of Go Go from his native Washington, D.C.. Those sounds also became the sonic bed for the introduction to Beyoncé as a solo artist. The rest is history.
BEYONCE “FREEDOM” SAMPLING “LET ME TRY” BY KALEIDOSCOPE
Here’s what Arrow Benjamin told AskKobie ™ about writing “Freedom” with Beyoncé:
“This sample convicted me to write something militant. A soundtrack for a revolution that was focused more on truth than mere entertainment.”
– Arrow Benjamin – co-writer/backing Vocals on Freedom by Beyonce.
“Freedom” was produced by Just Blaze, who really doesn’t get enough credit for introducing progressive and psychedelic rock to hip hop and popular music. Both are sub-genres that celebrated abandoning popular and poppy music in exchange for a more rugged sound — much like Hip Hop in some ways. Just Blaze took this route by using The Doors for Jay Z’s “Take Over”, and it only makes sense that he’d tap into a similar emotion that became a soundscape for an anthem about continued perseverance in the face of oppression.
BEYONCE FEAT. NICKI MINAJ “FLAWLESS (REMIX)” SAMPLING “SPOTTIEOTTIEDOPALISCIOUS” BY OUTKAST
We saved our favorite for last… It’s kind of ironic because Destiny’s Child made their debut in 1998, which was the same year the group Outkast released their third studio album, ‘Aquemini,’ which featured the song “SpottieOttieDoaliscious.” Masterfully produced, “SpottieOttieDoaliscious,” contained live instruments during a time where sampling large sections of older records and crafting catchy choruses had become the norm. To the contrary, Big Boi and 3000 ditched the rhymes, and opt to provide a testimony of sorts about the trials and triumphs of coming of age, while Sleepy Brown provides a Curtis Mayfield -like falsetto ; 3000 pays homage to a popular refrain from a fictional Cabrini-Green’s Florida Evans, and all three are accompanied by one of the illest horn lines of our time.
Fast forward to 2014-15 when Beyonce and Nicki Minaj introduced a new generation to that legendary horn line.
Did you enjoy this sample lesson?
