The Last Days of Digi Stax

NPR recently chronicled the story of a sample - in this case, The Charmels' 1967 single "As Long As I've Got You" - which RZA copped for "C.R.E.A.M." on 1993's Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). That opening piano tinkle from the Stax house band (which often included Isaac Hayes or Booker T. and the M.G.'s) also marked the debut of RZA's most consistent influence - sweet Southern soul.

More than 15 years and 40 albums later, the two most prominent samples from RZA's Digi Snax hail back to 1969; The Tempations' Message From A Black Man, and "I Like It" from Stax staples The Emotions (who just finished their secular conversion from gospel act The Heavenly Sunbeams). Jonathan Kaslow, producer of Stax's The Soul of Hip Hop, said, "After 1969, things got much more interesting rhythmically. The BPM’s got to around 88 or 90…just the kind of tempos that would become perfect to rap to. And a lot of the beats that are sampled from Stax are just so perfect that they just loop it and do nothing else. They don’t have to layer it or anything. They’re perfect."

The beats might be right, but it appears the price is not. When Prefix asked RZA about samples from Digi Snax, he said: "I got mad records, but I didn’t even go through my records and do shit like that for the album...One, I’m a musician now myself, so I can create my own music. And two, the sample business is fucked up because they still haven’t met a standard of doing business. It’s like I do a song and you take 90 percent of my fuckin’ song when your track never even went gold and it’s about to go platinum. Until they get it right soon, I’ve declined on using samples lately."

That's a shame, especially considering what he did with these two:


The Emotions - I Like It (from So I Can Love You, 1969)


RZA - Don't Be Afraid (from Digi Snax, 2008)


The Tempations - Message From A Black Man (from Puzzle People, 1969)


RZA - You Cant Stop Me Now feat. Inspectah Deck (from Digi Snax)

Check out RZA's other classic soul samples on Shaolin Soul or The Soul of Hip Hop.

(pic via Soul Sides)

Other BT sample posts:
Messages From Black Men (Nas, Mos Def)
More Than U Know (Prince Paul, De La Soul)
You Never Knew (Hieroglyphics)
Since I Met You (Avalanches)
You Made A Believer Out of Me (Q-Tip)
3 Feet High and Rising (De La Soul)

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You Never Knew

NYC writer/DJ Jon Oliver recently featured Hieroglyphic's "You Never Knew" from their 1998 debut Third Eye Vision, and although the original is indeed a summer stoop classic, Hiero member/manager/beatmaker Domino's 2007 remix is way better. Make sure you grab that along with the original sample from Dom-produced "At the Helm" below, because as Pep Love says, "Those that know not doze, and it shows."


Hieroglyphics - You Never Knew (Domino Remix) (from Over Time, 2007)

Domino produced many of the songs on Third Eye Vision except "You Never Knew," but he kicked off b-side/rarities comp Over Time with this upgraded backpack banger almost ten years later. Crew leader Del tha Funkee Homosapien jumps in over a scratch break at the two minute mark: "Del - been rhyming for more than a decade - onto the next stage while MCs need aid - stay paid, I'm still grade A - none of that tomfoolery as you you can see this shit ain't nothing new to me." Since the original verse was already more than ten years old, we know Cube's cousin started flowing well before most kids started driving (his solo debut dropped when he was 18).


Southside Movement - I've Been Watching You (from Moving South, 1975)


Hieroglyphics - At the Helm (from Third Eye Vision, 1998)


RJD2 - Raised in the Ghetto (from Your Face or Your Kneecaps, 2001)

Unlike Pure Essence, Southside Movement's powerhouse funk was well known throughout Chicago (and the nation) in the mid 70s. The first minute of "I've Been Watching You," with an icy electric piano bit dripping over fuzzy guitars, stomping basslines, horn blasts, etc. was a perfect grab for "At the Helm." RJD2's instrumental redux (around 3:15) also includes a Jethro Tull mashup of "Pistol Grip Pump," The Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band, Double Trouble, and three different versions of Sly & the Family Stone's "Sing a Simple Song."

4/15 add: Del went and released a whole new album for free on the creep last week. Get it right now!



Related/Original Samples
Avalanches
More Avalanches
De La Soul
Eazy-E
Mos Def/Rza

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Since I Met You

"When my two friends married they chose a song that says 'since I met you, I found a world so new.' When they got the actual lyrics it said 'since I left you, I found a world so new!' They still kept it though."
- some random

While the Avalanches' title track might differ dramatically from the Main Attractions' original intent, and anyone that chooses a wedding song titled "Since I Left You" from the album Since I Left You deserves altar abandonment/VD, you can hardly blame them for choosing such an otherwise perfect song.


The Avalanches - Since I Left You



The source material is pretty strong, too. Breaking down Avalanches songs is similar to watching the Daft Punk sample video except you don't feel so dirty/used after. Aside from the two main inspirations below, the opening track also embodies portions of Jimmy Webb's "By the Time I Get To Phoenix" and Car Wash.


The Main Attractions - Everyday (sampled in "Since I Left You")


Klaus Wunderlich - Do the Latin Hustle (sampled in "Since I Left You")

"Latin Hustle" is also great for scooping cougars on the frozen tundra of Trader J's - evidently you just play it, walk over, and say something awesome. Expect nothing less from a man named Klaus Wunderlich.



Related:
Flight Tonight

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Messages From Black Men

Kevin Nottingham's This is Hip Hop has a running series called "Who Flipped It Better?" that we're hijacking to get your thoughts on an epic flow battle - Rza vs. Nas vs. Mos Def.

The original:


Message From A Black Man
Composed by Barrett Strong-Norman Whitfield
Performed by The Temptations

Souled On Music says "The Temptations released the track in 1969 on their Puzzle People LP. Although some critics and fans viewed the song's lyrics as being too political and militant, the track still became a popular radio request. It's often been said that The Temptations themselves were concerned about the tune being too forward-thinking for the times, resulting in their reluctance to play the track during live performances."

But nothing's too controversial these days though, right Nas? "Message" was also recorded or sampled by Charles Earland, Don Julian, S.O.U.L., Byron Lee & The Dragonaires, Mickey & The Soul Generation, The Spinners, The Whatnauts, and Derrick Harriott, MF Doom, and probably Girl Talk.

So considering production, flow and message - who flipped it better?


Mos Def - Undeniable (from True Magic, December 2006)


Rza - You Cant Stop Me Now feat. Inspectah Deck (from Digi Snax, March/June 2008)


Nas - You Can't Stop Us Now feat. Eban Thomas (from Nas, July 2008)

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