Hip-hop was born from the art of turning old sounds into something thrilling and new.
DJs looped breaks, MCs rhymed over grooves, and producers raided dusty crates of vinyl to build beats from forgotten fragments.
Some records, though, have proven so irresistible that they’ve been sampled hundreds—sometimes thousands—of times, becoming the very backbone of the culture.
Let’s break down the five tracks that have fueled more hip-hop hits than any others—examining their origins, their signature sounds, and the landmark rap tracks that reimagined them.
5. “Synthetic Substitution” – Melvin Bliss (1973)
The Original
Melvin Bliss was a little-known soul singer when he released “Synthetic Substitution,” a B-side with a funky, tightly wound drum break played by session drummer Bernard “Pretty” Purdie.
The song itself barely charted, but the drum intro—clean, punchy, and perfectly loopable—became a producer’s dream.
Why It’s Sampled
The break offers crisp snares and deep kicks that can be chopped endlessly without losing groove.
It’s both sparse and funky, making it ideal as a rhythmic foundation.
Iconic Hip-Hop Uses
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“O.P.P.” – Naughty by Nature (1991): Treach and crew flipped the break into a playful anthem.
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“I Used to Love H.E.R.” – Common (1994): No I.D. chopped the drums into a mellow yet head-nodding classic.
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“The Message” – Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five (1982): Early hip-hop perfection built on Bliss’s beat.
Producers from J Dilla to Kanye West have borrowed from it, proving that a forgotten soul B-side can echo for decades.
4. “Apache” – Incredible Bongo Band (1973)
The Original
This instrumental cover of a 1960 song by The Shadows was recorded by session players led by Michael Viner.
The Incredible Bongo Band’s version is pure adrenaline: booming drums, wild bongos, and a mid-song break that changed music forever.
Why It’s Sampled
Known as “the national anthem of hip-hop,” the Apache break became a Bronx block-party staple in the 1970s.
DJ Kool Herc famously extended it during live sets, giving dancers endless fuel.
Iconic Hip-Hop Uses
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“Apache” – Sugarhill Gang (1981): The most famous rap adaptation, turning the break into a full-on party track.
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“Jump on It” – Sir Mix-a-Lot (1996): A playful homage that brought the groove to a new generation.
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“Bongo Rock” loops in countless DJ battle routines.
Its tribal energy remains irresistible for breakdancers and sample hunters alike.
3. “Think (About It)” – Lyn Collins (1972)
The Original
Produced by James Brown and featuring his signature funky backing band, “Think (About It)” includes one of the most famous vocal breaks ever: the “Yeah! Woo!” shout.
Why It’s Sampled
That tiny two-second snippet—Collins and the band chanting “Yeah! Woo!”—is pure rhythmic candy.
It slices perfectly into loops, scratches, and hooks, adding instant attitude to any beat.
Iconic Hip-Hop Uses
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“It Takes Two” – Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock (1988): Perhaps the most recognizable use, turning the “Yeah! Woo!” into a dance-floor command.
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“Funky Drummer” era remixes from DJ Premier and Eric B. & Rakim frequently incorporated the shout.
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“Alright” – Kendrick Lamar (2015): Modern producers still sneak it into complex beats.
Few samples carry such instant recognition, proving that a single vocal exclamation can fuel decades of creativity.
2. “Amen Brother” – The Winstons (1969)
The Original
A B-side instrumental recorded by a Washington, D.C. soul group, “Amen Brother” contains a six-second drum break by drummer Gregory Coleman that would become the most important rhythm in modern music.
Why It’s Sampled
Known simply as the Amen break, this pattern of rolling snares and syncopated kicks is a rhythmic Swiss army knife.
It spawned not only countless hip-hop beats but entire genres like drum & bass, jungle, and breakcore.
Iconic Hip-Hop Uses
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“Straight Outta Compton” – N.W.A. (1988): Dr. Dre flipped it into a West Coast classic.
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“Don’t Believe the Hype” – Public Enemy (1988): Bomb Squad chaos built on the Amen groove.
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“Amen, Brother” scratches in DJ sets from Grandmaster Flash onward.
The Winstons never earned royalties for the sample, but their six seconds reshaped the sound of global music.
1. “Funky Drummer” – James Brown (1970)
The Original
Recorded in Cincinnati with Clyde Stubblefield on drums, “Funky Drummer” is a loose jam built around a hypnotic groove.
Near the end, Brown famously shouts, “Give the drummer some!”—and Stubblefield delivers a break so tight it became the blueprint for hip-hop rhythm.
Why It’s Sampled
The Funky Drummer break is pure perfection: a syncopated snare/kick pattern with a ghost-note swing that’s impossible to resist.
It’s clean, unaccompanied, and endlessly loopable.
Iconic Hip-Hop Uses
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“Fight the Power” – Public Enemy (1989): Chuck D’s manifesto rides Stubblefield’s unstoppable beat.
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“Rebel Without a Pause” – Public Enemy (1987): Another Bomb Squad masterwork built on the break.
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“Let Me Ride” – Dr. Dre (1992): West Coast G-funk meets James Brown funk.
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“Mama Said Knock You Out” – LL Cool J (1990): Marley Marl chops the break into pure aggression.
From Run-DMC to Kendrick Lamar, nearly every era of hip-hop has tapped this groove.
Why These Samples Matter
These five songs aren’t just popular—they’re foundational.
They provided the raw material for hip-hop’s language of rhythm, giving producers a shared vocabulary to innovate on top of.
Sampling wasn’t about laziness; it was about recontextualization—transforming old sounds into something defiantly new.
The Art of the Loop
Producers like DJ Premier, J Dilla, Dr. Dre, and the Bomb Squad didn’t simply copy these breaks.
They chopped them into microseconds, layered them with other samples, pitched them up or down, and built entirely new worlds.
Legal Battles
As sampling exploded, so did lawsuits.
Artists like the Winstons (for “Amen Brother”) famously received no royalties, sparking debates about copyright, creativity, and compensation.
Legacy
Even in the age of digital production, these five songs remain in heavy rotation.
Their grooves are baked into sample libraries and drum machines, ensuring they’ll influence producers who’ve never even heard the originals.
Final Beat
Hip-hop’s genius lies in making the old sound brand new.
From James Brown’s revolutionary rhythms to the Incredible Bongo Band’s breakbeat masterpiece, these five songs form the bedrock of a culture that continues to innovate, remix, and reimagine.
Every time a producer drops a needle, loads a sample pack, or slices a break into a new beat, the echoes of these classics keep hip-hop’s past alive—one loop at a time.
