Overcast! (1997)

Adjust samples

San Sebastian Strings – Beyond the Bend Ahead

Clay samples

Andreas Vollenweider – Steam Forest; Water Moon

Multiples samples

John Williams – Dune Sea of Tatooine/Jawa Sandcrawler

Scapegoat samples

Bee Gees – Walking Back to Waterloo

The Outernet samples

John Williams – The Indianapolis Story

Lucy Ford: The Atmosphere EPs (2001)

Like Today samples

The Counts – Since We Said Goodbye

Tears for the Sheep (A City of Fools) samples

Aretha Franklin – Cry Like a Baby

Guns and Cigarettes samples

Cannonball Adderley – Oh Baby

Don’t Ever Fucking Question That samples

Wilbert Longmire – Just As Long We Have Love

It Goes samples

Ben Sidran – Walking with the Blues

Party for the Fight to Write samples

Morgana King – Like A Seed

Steve Miller Band – Shu Ba Du Ma Ma Ma Ma

Mama Had a Baby and His Head Popped Off samples

The Isley Brothers – Sensuality

The Woman with the Tattooed Hands samples

Lamont Dozier – Blue Sky & Sliver Bird

God Loves Ugly (2002)

Vampires samples

Gabor Szabo – Magical Connection

A Girl Named Hope samples

Eddie Holman – Four Walls

Modern Man’s Hustle

samples

Little Feat – Long Distance

Seven’s Travels (2003)

Trying to Find a Balance

samples

Spooky Tooth – The Mirror

Bird Sings Why the Caged I Know samples

Janis Joplin – Work Me, Lord

Gotta Lotta Walls samples

Shango – Taste of Honey

Apple samples

Quincy Jones – Crybaby

Denvemolorado samples

Black Ivory – No If’s, And’s, or But’s

You Can’t Imagine How Much Fun We’re Having (2005)

The Arrival samples

Bo Hansson – Excursion With Complications

Panic Attack samples

Lee Michaels – (Don’t Want No) Woman

Watch Out samples

Lee Dorsey – Get Out of My Life, Woman

Say Hey There samples

The Impressions – Have Mercy On Me

Hockey Hair samples

The Independents – Sarah Lee

Smart Went Crazy samples

Doris Duke – Ghost of Myself

Angelface samples

Tyrone Davis – I Wake Up Crying

Little Man samples

The O’Jays – Who Am I

When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold (2008)

Yesterday samples

Gladys Knight & the Pips – Love Finds Its Own Way

Wild Wild Horses samples

David Oliver – The Masquerade is Over

In Her Music Box samples

Gary Wright – Time Machine

Miscellaneous

Shrapnel samples

Jerry Goldsmith – Main Title

The Ocean samples

Free – Mr. Big

Untitled samples

Brian Eno – Driving Me Backwards

God’s Bathroom Floor samples

John Klemmer – Humbling Love

? samples

Herbie Hancock – Ostinato (Suite for Angela)

When the titans of golden age hip hop meet the king of pop, genius results. In memory of Michael Jackson’s death on Thursday, here’s a list of the top ten hip hop songs that sample him.

10. Mobb Deep – Apostle’s Warning

It took a strike of genius to make the “Peee-PUUU-UU-UUUL” from the chorus of People Make the World Go Round into an eerie background noise to a grimey Mobb Deep song.

Michael Jackson – People Make the World Go Round

is sampled on

Mobb Deep – Apostle’s Warning

9. Rebel MC – Black Meaning Good

If you haven’t heard this song or seen the video, check it out. Great Afrocentric rap from ‘91 with a random but good sample of Michael’s Ben thrown in the middle.

Rebel MC – Black Meaning Good

samples

Michael Jackson – Ben

8. Ice Cube – You Know How We Do It

7. Ol’ Dirty Bastard – Got Your Money

6. Refugee Camp Allstars – Avenues

These three mid-nineties hits all sample the same drums on a Michael Jackson song. Pay close attention to the drums, and see if you can guess it before you reach the MJ video.

Ice Cube – You Know How We Do It

Ol’ Dirty Bastard – Got Your Money

Refugee Camp Allstars – Avenues

all sample–did you guess it?–

Billie Jean

DAMN those drums are sweet.

5. Kanye West – Good Life ft T-Pain

Good Life is one of my personal favorite Kanye songs, and one of the few songs with Autotunin’ T-Pain that doesn’t make me want to drill a hole through my eardrum. The sample is subtle, so I lined it up for you.

Michael Jackson – P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)

is sampled on

Kanye West – Good Life ft T-Pain

4. 2Pac – Thug Nature

3. Nas – It Ain’t Hard to Tell

It was just a matter of time before heavyweights Nas and 2Pac showed up on this list. And to make it easy for me, they both appear on the same song sample: Nas on his 1994 Illmatic cut It Ain’t Hard to Tell, and 2Pac on a posthumously created joint from the 2000 Death Row Records compilation Too Gangsta for Radio. I guess Suge Knight did at least one good thing in his life.

Michael Jackson – Human Nature

is sampled on

Nas – It Ain’t Hard to Tell (samples intro keyboard and “da dat dat da” vocals at 3:33 )

and 2Pac – Thug Nature

2. De La Soul – Breakadawn

De La Soul took a fantastic beat and laid down their signature mellow lyrics on top to make this the single to hear off their most underrated album, Buhloone Mind State (1993).

De La Soul – Breakadawn

samples

Michael Jackson – I Can’t Help It

1. Big Punisher – You Ain’t a Killer

And finally, the number one hip hop song that samples Michael Jackson. Producer Young Lord is a genius for seeing this two second sample and turning it into the tour de force Big Pun ripped into more than 20 years later. I won’t say any more; I’ll let the song speak for itself.

Big Punisher – You Ain’t a Killer

samples

Michael Jackson – With a Child’s Heart

Bonus: Alien Ant Farm – Smooth Criminal

Okay, so it’s not a hip hop song. But I’m including it anyway, because I remember when this song came out, and it was HUGE. Of course, MJ’s version was so hot it literally made people’s brains catch on fire. But this cover owned the radio and MTV in 2001, and that’s pretty good for four Lit wannabes from SoCal. And I do like the change on the “you’re okay, Annie” part.

Alien Ant Farm – Smooth Criminal

is a cover of

Michael Jackson – Smooth Criminal

That’s all for now. Make sure to check back soon, I’ll be posting the Madlib sampleography in the next couple days.