It has been quite the busy and successful year for iconic rap duo Run The Jewels. After dropping another critically-acclaimed album at the top of 2017, having music featured in Gears of War, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and most recently Marvel’s Black Panther trailer, AND a current tour, we felt it was necessary to look at the source material for one of their hottest joints to date: “Legend Has It”

The sample that kicks the song off and sets the tone musically for the rest of the instrumentation comes from 70s London progressive rock outfit Gentle Giant. The band was known for challenging the conventions of music in their time, and appropriately RTJ follow in this tradition in their approach to hip-hop- great production on the track with help from a truly interesting musical act from back in the day.

It’s been quite some time, but we’re back with another edition of Sample Source Sundays featuring some very noteworthy and special artists. Today’s source of sonic inspiration comes from a figure who is greatly revered and respected in the culture, Brazilian arranger, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Arthur Verocai.

Verocai was active in Brazilian music in the 60s and 70s across genres as a musician while also having a hand in the business side of things, but it was his 1972 self-titled LP that has continued to influence and inspire a multitude of hip-hop acts and keep his music career going, which is ironic considering that the masterful work was released to little fanfare during a time when it represented a revolutionary movement away from traditional musical sound.

editor’s note: we apologize for doubling up posts this week - some technical issues made it so that last week’s post had to be kept as a draft. with very few people and limited resources on hand, it’s sometimes harder to keep on pace, but future content will be more frequent, varied, and of higher quality.

Sample Source Sundays would like to feature a more up-and-coming artist this week in order to mix it up a bit after featuring some bigger names in the culture in the last few posts. For those who aren’t familiar, we’d like to introduce Chicago’s underground heavyweight Mick Jenkins. 

Mick Jenkins is currently on the heels of the success of his breakout album The Water[s]. The project features many introspective jams with dense lyricism in his trademark gruff-yet-melodic vocal delivery, including the notable, super-chill joint, “Vibe”.

Jenkins’ go-to producer On Gaud used a sample from Philly Soul / Funk keyboardist Dexter Wansel’s “The Sweetest Pain”, essentially keeping the original song’s very relaxed feel from the intro. Wansel’s work led to collaborations with famous artists such as The Jacksons, Evelyn ‘Champagne’ King, and Grover Washington, Jr. 

After hearing the very sad news of his early passing this week, it only makes sense to commemorate this week’s edition of Sample Source Sundays to Brooklyn underground hip-hop and battle rap legend Pumpkinhead. PH was a prominent figure in the indie rap scene, being famously featured on Immortal Technique’s seminal projects, volumes one and two of Revolutionary. while also playing a huge role in the foundation of Grindtime, a widely respected battle league that has seen some of the most classic match-ups in the game and continues until this day.

PH’s solo joint “Jukebox” is a classic work from his album Orange Moon Over Brooklyn detailing love, loss, frustration, and the silver lining that awaits at the end of the struggle. It’s notable and unique sample comes from a work from classical piano composers Ferrante & Teicher. 

Since this week’s edition of Sample Source Sundays happens to coincide with Mother’s Day, we’d like to send our shout out to all the mom’s who ever did it by dedicating this installment to y’all. 

Perhaps the most famous hip-hop song in honor of the momma, 2Pac’s “Dear Mama” still tugs at the heartstrings to this day, a tune off his acclaimed album Me Against The World that is truly appreciative of the one-of-a-kind influence of a maternal figure. Producer Tony Pizarro got some great help putting this timeless gem together.

“Dear Mama” got their multi-element sample from a song called “In All My Wildest Dreams” by famed musician and composer Joe Sample, who unfortunately passed away just this past September. Sample was one of the founding members of The Crusaders, and has worked with the likes of B.B. King, Miles Davis, and George Benson.