#thesamplelesson

Cannibal Ox is an American underground hip hop duo from Harlem, New York, United States. It consists of Vast Aire and Vordul Mega. They actually came out with a new album this year, "Blade of the Ronin", but their seminal "The Cold Vein" was released 14 years ago. It was produced completely by El-P of "Company Flow" and nowadays in "Run the Jewels" along with Killer Mike. "The Cold Vein" was released on El-P's independent "Def Jux" label, which was actually sued by "Def Jam Recordings" over the name similarity. Since then it's known as "Definite Jux". The album was noted for its profound lyrical content; Vast Aire's and Vordul Mega's lyrics painted a vivid picture of a poverty-stricken New York. The album put the duo in the underground hip hop spotlight, and has since been described as one of the best rap albums of the decade 2000-2010. Ab-Soul of TDE also sampled Attic Thoughts in his 2012 track "Pineal Gland" and Roc Marciano did the same in "Hoard 90" from 2011. Popularity in Sweden put pressure on Hansson to tour, and a touring band was hastily assembled. The tour was cancelled by Bo Hansson, however, citing a lack of motivation. Instead, he returned to Studio Decibel and started work on his third album (Attic Thoughts). Using the tried and trusted backing musicians the recordings continued the progression of the previous album. Despite being the most accomplished record of Hansson's career, it did not find the success it deserved.

The song is found on Bo Hansson's 1972 (1974 in the UK) "The Magician's Hat". Like its predecessor, the album was, at least partly, influenced by fairy tale and fantasy themes, with the song "Elidor" having been directly inspired by Alan Garner's 1965 fantasy novel Elidor. It was not as commercially successful and failed to reach the charts in the UK and the U.S. On the "Dutch Progressive Rock" website, Nigel Camilleri has noted that the album saw Hansson "exploring a broader musical territory than he did on Lord Of The Rings" but he also criticized many of the tracks for being "snippets of musical ideas which had not been expanded on". This is ironic as these snippets now have been expanded on at least 16 times and reached thousands of people worldwide.

Sample Lesson 10 - Pusha T vs Bo Hansson. To celebrate the musician and organist Bo Hansson's legacy in hiphop music I will post 5 sample lessons this week with music from his albums from 1970 to 1975. If you're in Sweden make sure to check out the fantastic documentary on Bo Hansson "I Trollkarlens Hatt" by Hans-Erik Therus, currently running on @svtkspecial on @svt_play Pusha T started his career in 1992 in the hiphop duo "Clipse" along with his brother Gene aka "Malice" who released several albums and were heavily affiliated with the production duo "The Neptunes" composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo. Later on in 2010 he signed to Kanye West's "GOOD Music" label, and the song "My God" is from the 2011 EP "Fear of God II: Let Us Pray" and is produced by Hit-Boy and Deezy. It's not the first time that Pusha T rhymes on a Bo Hansson track however, on "Jokes on You" from 2007 he joins Faboulous on a beat that samples "Born of a Gentle South" from Bo Hansson's 1977 album "Watership Down". This track uses a sample from the song "Time for Great Achievments" from the album "Attic Thoughts" released the year before. It's also used in the Swedish rap group Fjärde Världen's "Fronten" from 2007. Bo Hansson was a great musician but he couldn't really handle the fame and pressure that came with the success of his most famous "Music Inspired by the Lord of The Rings" album. It was released in Sweden on "Silence Records" in 1970 and copies of the album began to filter across to Britain where it came to the attention of Tony Stratton-Smith, who was so impressed that he released the album as on his own Famous Charisma label in September 1972.

"I rep the gang among some other things, yeah / I sample songs that my mother sings".

Sample Lesson 08 - Deniro Farrar vs Chromatics. Most people will recognize this sample of Chromatics "Cherry" in Schoolboy Q's "Man of The Year", but Deniro Farrar was first, and he does it even better in "Fears" from his 2013 mixtape "The Patriarch". He is the front figure of the "Cult Rap" movement, with its name deriving from how he's been able to grow his underground fan base in a cult-like fashion. Deniro Farrar has created an interesting style blending indie elements with street lyrics and through collaborations with artists like Ryan Hemsworth and Child Actor. Chromatics is an American electronic music band from Portland, Oregon that was formed in 2001. The band consists of Ruth Radelet (pictured), Adam Miller, Nat Walker, and Johnny Jewel.

Sample Lesson 07 - YG vs Ray Parker Jr. On "Twist My Fingaz", which is produced by Terrace Martin, YG pays homage to the West Coast G-Funk tradition. Artists like Dr. Dre, Warren G, Nate Dogg, Snoop Dogg and DJ Quik developed the G-Funk sound that usually incorporates multi-layered and melodic synthesizers, slow hypnotic grooves, a deep bass, background female vocals as well as extensive sampling of P-Funk (George Clinton & Parliament-Funcadelic). The bassline sampled in this track is not a Parliament song however. It is by Ray Parker Jr. and his 1980 record "For Those Who Like To Grove". Parker is responsible for yet another famous bassline, the theme song for the 1984 movie "Ghostbusters". #yg#samplelesson #sample #rap#sampleconfession #rayparkerjr #hiphop#music @nardwuar @music @pitchfork@whosampled @yg

J Dilla's crate digging abilities are probably uncontested, and in "Workinonit" from the 2006 album "Donuts" he samples at least 5 different songs, with 10cc's "The Worst Band In The World" from 1974 being the most prominent. Dilla is a true Detroit legend and has inspired thousands of producers all over the world to dig out gems from the most obscure tracks and records. 10cc is an English art rock band that reached most of their commercial success in the 70's, and that interestingly had two songwriting teams, one "commercial" and one "artistic". This one is a great example of Dilla's ability to take influences from unexpected genres and bring them together as layered fragments.

Soul Dog - Can’t Stop Loving You (1976)