Post by rocky on Jul 31, 2003 20:00:37 GMT -5
Recently James Brown was awarded with the BET lifetime achievement award, a fitting and apt award indeed for this legendary funk master. Personally I absolutely loved this guys music, not surprising James Brown's sound has been a big influence on today's hip-hop music. Here's an excellent article from www.bet.com:
....................................................................................
James Brown: The Fifth Element of Hip Hop
Posted June 3, 2003-- Using a dope beat from the past to make a current hit is part of the foundation of hip-hop. Back in the day DJs would pay homage to funk music to get the party going -- most notably is the music of James Brown, the funkiest man alive. His music has, in fact, been sampled more times then the music of any other artist which perhaps makes James Brown the fifth element of Hip Hop. Twelve of his recordings have been sampled more than 650 times. Brown's most sampled track, by far, is "Funky Drummer" (1970). It's drum line has been used on more than 150 songs . Of course the unlicensed copying of Brown's music had been curtailed after a 1991 court decision, which prevented the rapper Biz Markie from distributing a record that sampled the singer Gilbert O'Sullivan without permission. However, in the end, everyone from Alicia Keys to Kool Moe Dee has borrowed from James Brown.
Let's take a look at some of the hot hits of hip-hop and R&B and see who took a lil summin summin from the Godfather of Soul.:: AD ::
In the 1980's many hip-hop artist were adding more than a touch of James Brown to their songs. With the 1987 release of Paid In Full, Eric B. and Rakim helped establish rap's infatuation with James Brown. Cuts like "Eric B. Is President," "My Melody" and "I Know You Got Soul" all sampled James Brown. Rap legend Kool Moe Dee followed the James Brown trend with his biggest hit, "How Ya Like Me Now, " also in 87.' This track paid tribute to James Brown by sampling the music and content of "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag." "How Ya Like Me Now," zeroed in Kool Moe Dee's beef with young upstarts coming into the game who were trying to bite his style just like "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" did a generation before. Rapper Biz Markie flipped James Brown's "Papa Don't Take No Mess" on his hit about the price of fame, "Vapors," in 1988. Salt-N-Pepa joined the JB bandwagon with their 1988 hit "Shake Your Thing," by sampling "Funky Drummer," James Browns most sampled song.
:: NEW PAGE ::
Sampling the music of James Brown was not exclusive to hip-hop. During the 90's R&B was heavily influenced by hip-hop. This trend was extended, in part, by En Vogue. This mega successful girl group mixed the intro music of "The Payback" into their 1992 hit song "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)". This launched their album Funky Divas into platinum status and became a beacon of the infusion of hip-hop into R&B music. That same year a fun, energetic, and in your face girl group named TLC burst onto the scene with the album Ooooooh...On the TLC Tip. Their first single "Ain't to Proud to Beg" used James Brown's "Escapism" to put across their message of female independence. Rap diva Lil Kim continued TLC's in your face message and style with her 1996 debut release of Hard Core. Her hit "No Time" made her an instant star. Lil Kim sampled "The Message from the Soul Sister" by James Browns protege Vicki Anderson with some help from Sean "Puffy" Combs to make this song a hip-hop classic. Puffy later made use of "Blow Your Head" by Fred Wesley & The JBs for his "P.E. 2000" track. Thus leading James Browns music and sampling into the new millennium.
The 21st Century ushered in new artists and new music, but James Brown's influence remained. Alicia Keys proved it's not all about man's world by winning five Grammies in 2001 for her debut album Songs in A Minor. But Keys did borrow from James Brown's "It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World," to craft her mega hit "Fallen." Queens finest, Nas laid his rhyme skills over the James Brown track "The Boss." As James said, "I paid the cost to be the boss." Nas, having come off a lyrical victory over Jay-Z, referenced the sentiment of this song as it related to his win and the struggles of street life. Snoop's most recent album is actually called Paid Tha Cost to Be Da Bo$$ as well.
While many pioneers of music drift into obscurity, James Brown and his music have been kept alive though hip-hop, R&B and his own bona fide, immortal place in the history of popular music. The Godfather of Soul provided the blueprint for funk. And in order to be funky you have to go back to the source. So say it loud, "I'm proud that James Brown was around to give us all soul power!!"
....................................................................................
James Brown: The Fifth Element of Hip Hop
Posted June 3, 2003-- Using a dope beat from the past to make a current hit is part of the foundation of hip-hop. Back in the day DJs would pay homage to funk music to get the party going -- most notably is the music of James Brown, the funkiest man alive. His music has, in fact, been sampled more times then the music of any other artist which perhaps makes James Brown the fifth element of Hip Hop. Twelve of his recordings have been sampled more than 650 times. Brown's most sampled track, by far, is "Funky Drummer" (1970). It's drum line has been used on more than 150 songs . Of course the unlicensed copying of Brown's music had been curtailed after a 1991 court decision, which prevented the rapper Biz Markie from distributing a record that sampled the singer Gilbert O'Sullivan without permission. However, in the end, everyone from Alicia Keys to Kool Moe Dee has borrowed from James Brown.
Let's take a look at some of the hot hits of hip-hop and R&B and see who took a lil summin summin from the Godfather of Soul.:: AD ::
In the 1980's many hip-hop artist were adding more than a touch of James Brown to their songs. With the 1987 release of Paid In Full, Eric B. and Rakim helped establish rap's infatuation with James Brown. Cuts like "Eric B. Is President," "My Melody" and "I Know You Got Soul" all sampled James Brown. Rap legend Kool Moe Dee followed the James Brown trend with his biggest hit, "How Ya Like Me Now, " also in 87.' This track paid tribute to James Brown by sampling the music and content of "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag." "How Ya Like Me Now," zeroed in Kool Moe Dee's beef with young upstarts coming into the game who were trying to bite his style just like "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" did a generation before. Rapper Biz Markie flipped James Brown's "Papa Don't Take No Mess" on his hit about the price of fame, "Vapors," in 1988. Salt-N-Pepa joined the JB bandwagon with their 1988 hit "Shake Your Thing," by sampling "Funky Drummer," James Browns most sampled song.
:: NEW PAGE ::
Sampling the music of James Brown was not exclusive to hip-hop. During the 90's R&B was heavily influenced by hip-hop. This trend was extended, in part, by En Vogue. This mega successful girl group mixed the intro music of "The Payback" into their 1992 hit song "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)". This launched their album Funky Divas into platinum status and became a beacon of the infusion of hip-hop into R&B music. That same year a fun, energetic, and in your face girl group named TLC burst onto the scene with the album Ooooooh...On the TLC Tip. Their first single "Ain't to Proud to Beg" used James Brown's "Escapism" to put across their message of female independence. Rap diva Lil Kim continued TLC's in your face message and style with her 1996 debut release of Hard Core. Her hit "No Time" made her an instant star. Lil Kim sampled "The Message from the Soul Sister" by James Browns protege Vicki Anderson with some help from Sean "Puffy" Combs to make this song a hip-hop classic. Puffy later made use of "Blow Your Head" by Fred Wesley & The JBs for his "P.E. 2000" track. Thus leading James Browns music and sampling into the new millennium.
The 21st Century ushered in new artists and new music, but James Brown's influence remained. Alicia Keys proved it's not all about man's world by winning five Grammies in 2001 for her debut album Songs in A Minor. But Keys did borrow from James Brown's "It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World," to craft her mega hit "Fallen." Queens finest, Nas laid his rhyme skills over the James Brown track "The Boss." As James said, "I paid the cost to be the boss." Nas, having come off a lyrical victory over Jay-Z, referenced the sentiment of this song as it related to his win and the struggles of street life. Snoop's most recent album is actually called Paid Tha Cost to Be Da Bo$$ as well.
While many pioneers of music drift into obscurity, James Brown and his music have been kept alive though hip-hop, R&B and his own bona fide, immortal place in the history of popular music. The Godfather of Soul provided the blueprint for funk. And in order to be funky you have to go back to the source. So say it loud, "I'm proud that James Brown was around to give us all soul power!!"
Back it up..with attitude
