Production Breakdown: The Sample Behind the Sample Behind Kanye’s “Good Friday”

As much as I disagree with the argument that sampling takes any shine away from the source material, there are definitely instances in which ingeniously flipped samples, fairly or unfairly, gain precedence over the original in the public consciousness Actually, it kinda happens a lot. Sometimes it may be due to the source material's age and obscurity; Soul Mann and The Brothers' oft-sampled cover of “Bumpy's Lament” (discussed here) arguably fell victim to both. Occasionally, a producer will combine multiple samples so seamlessly as to make them sound incomplete when heard separately (as in the case of Just Blaze's beat on Hova's “Show Me What You Got.”) And once in a blue moon, a chubby rapper dresses up as Mozart, sings a tone-deaf rendition of the hook from a vintage-soul hit, and inexplicably ends up with an unforgettable pop gem.

You've probably guessed what I'm referring to here, but let's backtrack. Featured in the Booth at the top of the week, Kanye West's “Good Friday.” (the semi-title track in his ongoing G.O.O.D. Fridays series ) found the superstar rapper/producer and five of his dopest associates (Common, Pusha T, Kid CuDi, Big Sean and Charlie Wilson) joining forces for a straight-up blowout of a collaborative cut. As writers on both sides of the DJBooth/RefinedHype divide pointed out, the reader-acclaimed cut prominently featured the piano loop, and a modified version of the chorus melody from Biz Markie's oh-so-classic, oft-imitated 1989 smash, “Just a Friend.”



“Never a bad choice, “ I thought to myself “But wait.. could there be a sample behind the sample?” Yes, indeed there is. The instantly recognizable piano loop and chorus from Markie's cut were originally the work of Freddie Scott, an old-school soul veteran responsible for several '60s charters.



Released in '68, “(You) Got What I Need””climbed to #27 on the Billboard R&B Chart way back when – but I defy a modern listener to listen to that chorus without mentally adding “...but you say he's just a friend..” Can't do it, can you?

Ghostface fans undoubtedly had another “a-ha!” moment while listening to “Got What I Need.” That's right: this is the same record that serves, as the raw material for the Wu-Tang alum's “Save Me Dear,”a joint off his Pretty Toney Album.



The moral of this story? Don't ever talk to a girl who says she has “just a friend.” That and, when current artists drop records inspired by old-school hip-hop cuts, don't forget to seek out the sample behind the sample.