Artist Spotlight: 10 Of The Most Sampled Music Artists In Hip-Hop

For decades the almighty sample has carried the Hip-Hop game far and wide. The works of yesteryear’s most talented artists helped craft melodies for some of today’s biggest stars, courtesy of producers who have an ear for quality sound.

Not all past musicians have been tapped to lend their sound to present day creations. But since the 80’s names such as James Brown, George Clinton and Aretha Franklin have had their work constantly tapped by creative DJ’s and producers who built massive hits around sometime the smallest of pieces of their original tune.

But biters beware, if you don’t get the proper permission and paperwork to borrow the samples you tasted and employed into your dish, you can kiss that track, and the profits, goodbye.

In honor of Black Music Month, HipHopWired and Metro PCS present to you the most sampled artists in Hip-Hop history.

They don’t call him the Godfather of Soul for nothing. James Brown’s catalog has been sampled so many times that he’s basically fed every artist who ever made a dime in the rap game. Songs like “Hot Pants” and “Get Up Offa That Thing” have found their way onto songs by Gang Starr, Kendrick Lamar, and Boogie Down Productions.

George Clinton
Parliament and Funkadelic were a planet unto themselves and their sounds took listeners to a place they’d never been before. That being said, the P-Funk that George Clinton fathered in gave birth to the G-Funk that Dr. Dre helped deliver to the rap game in the mid 90’s. But even before “Funky Drummer” made “Let Me Ride” a classic song for lowridin’ G’s, Public Enemy used it to make a statement in “Fight The Power.”

Isaac Hayes
The man with the deep voice and dope shades has found his work reworked onto some of the dopest cuts in Hip-Hop history. “Walk On By” alone is responsible for Biggie’s “Warning,” Tupac’s “Me Against The World,” and Beyonce’s “6 Inch.” But “Hung Up On My Baby” might’ve been the most underrated sample of all-time as it led to the Geto Boys’ “Mind Playing Tricks On Me.”

photo: WENN.com

Aretha Franklin
You didn’t think the men were going to get all the attention, did you? The Queen of Soul (not to be confused with the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, Mary J Blige), Aretha Franklin has found her songs “Call Me” and “Day Dreaming” end up on songs by Kanye West, Slum Village, T.I., and Ab-Soul.

Lyn Collins
Lyn Collins might’ve blown up due to her work with James Brown, but she really did hold her own and made a name for herself when she went solo. So much so that it caught the attention of producers like J Dilla, Swizz Beatz, RZA, and of course, Eric B. That’s not counting the rappers that have also jumped on some Lyn Collins sampled beats.

The Winstons
You might’ve never heard of them, but trust you’ve heard their music. Well, at least a piece of it. The Washington D.C. funk & soul band have been sampled thousands of times and have had their song “Amen Brother” used by a flurry of artists ranging from the likes of N.W.A. to Mary J. Blige to Tyler The Creator.

Kool And The Gang
Remember when the movie star formerly known as The Fresh Prince released your favorite summer song “Summertime”? Or when the Luniz told you “I Got 5 On It”? How about when Wu-Tang introduced us to “Method Man”? Yeah, you can thank Kool And The Gang for providing the work that crafted those classics.

Marvin Gaye
We all love Marvin’s music. All of it. So you know it would be the basis for some of your favorite rappers most soulful tracks. If it wasn’t “Distant Lover” being used by Kanye West on “Spaceship” then it was “Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)” helping mortal enemies like Ja Rule and 50 Cent make names for themselves.

Kurtis Blow
It’s only right that Hip-Hop artists sample from one of its pioneers. The Hip-Hop OG came at a time when you basically had to create your own sounds from scratch and because of that, left behind records like “If I Ruled The World” and “The Breaks” which led to classic records from Nas (“If I Ruled The World”), The Fugees (“Ready Or Not”), and KRS-One (“MC’s Act Like They Don’t Know”).

Michael Jackson
You should’ve all saw this coming. The most beloved and controversial music artist of the 20th century saw his work inspire some of the best Hip-Hop songs of all-time. While Nas’ “It Ain’t Hard To Tell” used “Human Nature” as the basis for its melody, LL Cool J’s “Hey Lover” borrowed from Mike’s “The Lady In My Life” to further establish James Todd Smith as a Hip-Hop heartthrob.