Comin’ at cha with the first installment of Crates & Breaks, featuring classic hip hop tracks and the vintage records sampled. Recently, I began re-organizing my vinyl collection and taking some time to record in my wax in mp3 format. I’ve come to realize how much the great hip hop producers of our generation were a lot like historians and archeologists of music culture. Through their crate digging excavations they came across jewels of sound that they crafted into creative expressions for hip hoppers to appreciate. It’s because of producers like these below that many hip hoppers have grown to appreciate music across various generations and genres, particularly, jazz, soul, and international vibes. Below is a selection of breaks from the crates, check back on the weekly for more inspiration.
• Weather Report “Young & Fine” (1978)/DJ jazzy Jeff “Da Ntro” (2002)
• Ahmad Jamal “I Love Music”(1970)/Nas “The World Is Yours” (1994)
• Stan Getz “Saudade Vem Correndo” (1963)/Pharcyde “Runnin” (1995)
• Vic Juris “Horizon Drive” (1979)/Gang Starr “Mass Appeal” (1994)
• Ronnie Laws “Tidal Wave” (1975)/Black Moon “Who Got Da Props? (1993)
• Cannonball Adderly “Tensity” (1965)/Pete Rock “A Little Soul” (2001)
• George Benson “Face It Boy, It’s Over” (1968)/ DJ Jazzy Jeff “For Da Love of Da Game” (2002)
• David Matthews “Sandworms” (1977) /Large Professor “Mad Scientist” (1996)
• Clifford Brown “Yesterdays” (1955)/KRS ONE “Mc’s Act Like they Don’t Know” (1995)
• Gap Mangione “Diana In The Autumn Wind” (1968)/Jaylib “The Official” (2003)
