Rebbie Jackson’s debut album was some years in the making before being released in 1984.  Title track “Centipede” ended up being her biggest hit, penned and produced by her famous baby brother Michael (who also lent the backing vocals).  Yes, if you couldn’t place that look right away, Rebbie is the eldest of the Jackson siblings.  Between a late start performing with the group as they were starting out (a sprained ankle put her back seven months when the Jackson family started performing in Vegas) and taking time to raise her children, Rebbie’s career never quite saw the same heights as some of her iconic siblings’.  The song and video have always cracked me up with both the cheese factor and by being of the opinion that centipedes are among the least-sexy, least-cunning, anti-glamorous critters on Earth.*  Honestly, the song isn’t half as enjoyable without the video.

Onward to 1999 and the release of Missy Elliott’s second album – Da Real World.  The debut single, “She’s A Bitch,” is proof that Missy is one artist who can turn anything around with a sampled “Centipede” being woven throughout (I’m sure producer Timbaland had nothing to do with it, either).  If you’re old enough to be a little stung that this was over ten years ago, you’ll surely remember the super-futuristic-in-1999 video, directed by Hype Williams.

Check out the tracks!

Rebbie Jackson – Centipede

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Missy Elliott – She’s A Bitch

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*Self-induced guilt trip for rippin’ on centipedes led to some research.  Did you know they are nocturnal? Carnivorous? Can regenerate legs? Have a  pair of poison claws behind their head?  Maybe Rebbie Jackson was onto something I don’t know about.

While the world continues to freak over Kanye/Jay-Z collab “Otis” – by either embracing the smooth sounds of Otis Redding classic “Try A Little Tenderness” or denouncing the overt sample as being the most blatant rip of all time – I got to thinking: What’s less boring even more intriguing than talking about one of the most widely-anticipated and currently the most-discussed sample out there (How much did it cost? Otis is turning over in his grave! This is so amazing/sexy/lame/zzzzzzzzzz)? Let’s look at a song that was sampled for a track by The Man himself! (hint: The Man in this case is neither Jay-Z or Kanye. I know. Dig deep.)

“Tramp” is one of my favorite Otis Redding tracks, if for no other reason than a reminder to bring this insult back into the vernacular. It came on the last album released before his death in 1968 – coincidentally another collab album with fellow Stax star Carla Thomas – titled King & Queen. The funky basslines are lifted straight from The Temptations’ “I’m Losing You” in the way one might say samples are meant to be taken – with a touch of subtlety.

Tramp – Otis Redding & Carla Thomas

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(I Know) I’m Losing You – The Temptations

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While studying for my Master’s, my good friend Lynda and I would fervently borrow old funk and soul albums and compilations from York University’s media library. Lynda recommended a Chicago Soul cd and that’s when I came across Rotary Connection’s “Memory Band”. Rotary Connection was a psychedelic soul band formed in 1960’s Chicago by Marshall Chess, son of Chess Records’ founder Leonard Chess. There were several members in the band, including an unknown Chess receptionist Minnie Ripperton(!!) who provided vocals and went onto solo success. You find can “Memory Band’ on Rotary Connection’s debut album of the same name. When I first heard “Rotary Connection” I instantly recognized the sitar from A Tribe Called Quest’s “Bonita Applebum”. Check out the two tracks below.

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Image credit: Katrina

I don’t mean to brag or anything but I have an excellent phonological loop, only second to my girl R$. Maybe that’s why I write this column – when I recognize out the sample of a song I feel like I’m solving some type of puzzle. To illustrate, the first time I heard the heard Charles Hamilton’s “Brooklyn Girls” I thought “KP and Envyi!!” and was immediately taken back to my high school days when me and my girls would bump “Shorty Swing My Way” in my white Mazda 626 (do people still use the term “bump”?)  Just over a decade later Charles Hamilton sampled the song, chopping up the unmistakable opening notes that characterize the KP and Envyi hit and incorporating some of the vocals in the background. Take a listen to both tracks below. Read the full story

About a decade ago or so I walked into Vinyl, a record store in downtown Vancouver, and found a used copy of The Jackson 5’s Maybe Tomorrow gatefold album. Indeed, this was a gem. I remember my boyfriend incessantly asking to borrow the record but I kept on saying no because I knew he would either lose it or wreck it.

The first time I listened to the record I instantly loved it. Not only for the tracks themselves, but also because I could recognize samples taken from some of my favorite songs. One of the samples was from the title track, “Maybe Tomorrow,” which was used in Ghostface Killah and Mary J. Blige’s “All That I Got is You,” one of the best singles from Ghostface’s solo debut Ironman and one of my favorite Wu-Tang ballads (did I just use the term Wu-Tang ballad?!). Ghostface does a superb job at illustrating his formative years and the sample taken from “Maybe Tomorrow” sets the mood of the song perfectly.

Eventually that boyfriend and I broke up – to this day he still has a good number of my records so I’m really glad I kept the Jackson 5 album. Yep.

Check out the two songs below.

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Image credit: Katrina