As the James Brown biopic 'Get On Up' hits theaters, VIBE rewinds the Godfather of Hip-Hop's greatest contributions to rap music.

Get On The Good Foot: Hip-Hop's Top 10 James Brown Samples

August 1, 2014 - 2:19 pm by Keith Murphy

During the James Brown sample craze of the late 80's and early '90s, the no nonsense force-of-nature enjoyed a cultural and commercial rebirth. "Mr. Brown wasn't mad that all the rappers were using his music," recalls Bowlegged Lou whose group Full Force handled production duties for the rhythm and blues king's 1988 top 10 comeback album I'm Real. "But he felt he deserved to be paid and credited for those samples. He would say, "It should be Eric B. & Rakim featuring James Brown." The man had a point.

In fact, the most sampled artist in pop music history--everyone from R&B trio Total and a song-stealing accomplice Notorious B.I.G. ("Can't You See") to blue eyed soul crooner George Michael ("Waiting For That Day") have dipped into Brown's immaculate funk pool--is a genre to himself. With the much anticipated James Brown biopic Get On Up hitting theaters this Friday, VIBE set about the arduous task of counting down the top 10 James Brown hip-hop samples. Beat heads debate. All hail The Godfather of Soul! —Keith Murphy (@murphdogg29)

10. "Gotta Have It" (2011), Jay Z & Kanye West Samples: "I'm a Greedy Man" (1971), "My Thang" (1974) [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed] This most recent James Brown sampled entry doesn't try to reinvent the funk wheel. It's a sparse, distilled throwback that gives Jigga and Yeezy plenty of room to operate. Yet, Brown's authoritative voice is the star of the show. [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed] [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed]

9. "You Played Yourself" (1990), Ice T Samples: "The Boss" (1973) [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed] Sometimes a groove doesn't need to be stepped on. Such is the case with Ice T's game-spitting standout "You Played Yourself." The Godfather of gangsta rap utilizes significant portions of Brown's chest-beating proclamation "The Boss." If it ain't broke...you know the rest. [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed]

8. "Brand New Funk" (1988), DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince Samples: "Make It Funky" (1971), "My Thang" (1974) [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed] The next time you hear someone label DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince soft simply play them "Brand New Funk." Mr. Dynamite's propulsive lift adds plenty of cocky swagger to the infectious rhymes of future Hollywood box office king Will Smith. A fun, underrated record that still pops two decades plus later. [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed] [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed]

7. "Words I Manifest" (1988), Gang Starr Samples: "Bring It Up (Hipster's Avenue)" (1967) [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed] The beauty of the James Brown canon is in it's many musical chambers. Indeed, even on Gang Starr's jazz-centered debut single "Words I Manifest" (The revered duo of producer DJ Premier and late MC Guru mined heavily from Dizzy Gillespie's exotic "A Night in Tunisia"), Brown's simmering, laidback strut connects the dots between two of America's most original musical artforms. [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed]

6. "Heroin Joint" (2010), J Dilla Samples: "King Heroin" (1972) [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed] One of Brown's most underrated '70s gems is reworked by departed hip-hop production deity J Dilla. The somber, quiet anger that permeates throughout Soul Brother No. 1's original spoken word sermon against the evils of heroin is flipped brilliantly by the Detroit beat maestro and Slum Village conductor. [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed]

5. "South Bronx" (1987), Boogie Down Productions Samples: "Funky Drummer" (1970), "Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved" (1970), "Get Up Offa That Thing" (1976) [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed] During the latter part of the '80s and early '90s, it seemed as if the entire rap landscape wanted a piece of James Brown's dynamic sound, including Boogie Down Productions. The the late DJ Scott La Rock and his very young cocksure partner KRS-One salutes their beloved two-fisted borough and birthplace of hip-hop over arguably the most sampled percussive breakbeat in pop music history "Funky Drummer," among other JB tracks. The immaculate,iconic drumming you hear comes courtesy of influential stick man Clyde Stubblefield. [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed] [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed] [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed]

4. "I Know You Got Soul, (1987)" Eric B. & Rakim Samples: "I Know You Got Soul," Bobby Byrd (1971, co-written and produced by James Brown) [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed] When the needle drops on "I Know You Got Soul" the sweaty groove (it's so brutally funky that the frenetic drumming and blusey guitar riffs sound like they were recorded at a slaughter house) and voice of Brown sideman and talented collaborator Bobby Byrd leaps out from the speakers. Even Rakim, the greatest lyricist of his generation, understood the power of Brown's unfiltered soul productions. [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed]

3. "Amerikkka's Most Wanted" (1990), Ice Cube Samples: "There It Is, Pts. 1 & 2" (1972), "Just Enough Room for Storage" (1971) [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed] The first of three Bomb Squad productions finds N.W.A. refugee and West Coast powerhouse Ice Cube delivering an uncompromising rebuke of America's racist legal and political systems. Amongst layers of snippets, it's James Brown's aggressive sonics that give added fire power to Cube's lethal mix of aggressive gangsta attitude and cutting sociopolitical observations. [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed] [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed]

2. "Night Of The Living Baseheads" (1988), Public Enemy Samples: "The Grunt" (1970) [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed] P.E.'s groundbreaking production unit the Bomb Squad lifted the furious horn assault from this obscure instrumental from the Godfather of Soul's mighty backing band The JB's. Listen carefully and you will hear a young Bootsy Collins on bass before his star-making turn as a member of the Funkadelic collective. Not only did Public Enemy sample "The Grunt" for their furious anti-crack statement "Night Of The Living Baseheads," the multilayered gem was also dissected for two additional tracks on the outspoken group's landmark 1988 release It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back, including the screaming manifesto "Rebel Without A Pause." [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed]

1. "Fight The Power" (1989), Public Enemy Samples: "Funky Drummer" (1970), "Hot Pants" (1971) [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed] As with most Bomb Squad productions you have to listen very closely for any recognizable musical snippet. Hank and Keith Shocklee, and Chuck D treat the art of sampling like they are mimicking a Jackson Pollock painting. There is a controlled chaos, wall-of-sound eruption happening on "Fight The Power." A vocal clip of civil rights lawyer and activist Thomas "TNT" Todd here (the now famous, "Yet our best trained, best equipped, best prepared troops refuse to fight..." speech); a Trouble Funk "pump me up" sample and a Branford Marsalis' saxophone triplets there. And there's much more in this explosive stew, but it's Brown who pumps blood into Public Enemy's protest anthem as JB-stamped guitars, drums, keyboards, basslines and the force-of-nature's signature grunts move in and out of this monstrous song jam recorded for Spike Lee's seminal film Do The Right Thing. [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed] [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed]

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