Sampling is the practice of implementing sections from pre-existing songs into new songs. While this tradition dates all the way back to the 1940s, it was largely introduced to the mainstream by The Beatles on their experimental track “Revolution 9” from “The White Album” in 1968. It wasn’t until a decade later when it became a conventional aspect of popular music reintroduced by rap pioneers Kool DJ Herc and Grandmaster Flash.
When people heard MC Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This” being backed by Rick James’ “Super Freak”, they grew irate. It sparked what would become years of debate on whether or not songs that used samples could be deemed “original”. Musicians and fans alike saw this as a form of “stealing” instead of borrowing, and thought that it was disrespectful to the original artist and the song.
In 1991, Biz Markie was taken to court by Gilbert O’Sullivan for using O’Sullivan’s “Alone Again (Naturally)” without permission in his song “I Need A Haircut”. The result was catastrophic for Markie, when he was forced to pay a large fee after all copies of the record would be taken off the market. This served as a precedent for all future hits that would use samples, by which the artist is mandated to ask for permission from whoever owns the song being sampled.
Although this case was held at the dawn of the 90s, the years that followed saw some of the decade’s most talented and top-charting artists utilize sampling religiously. From 2pac to Fatboy Slim, and from A Tribe Called Quest to Vanilla Ice, the use of sampling took on many different forms.
Some used it for melodic backing, while others just borrowed the drum beats of certain songs. The art of sampling is still used to this day, but primarily by bigger artists like Gorillaz or Jay-Z, simply because it’s easier for them to get permission.
While sampling has definitely become a normal trait of popular music, it is still a defied practice by many. I have so many friends who firmly believe that it is unoriginal, and theft of intellectual property.
The irony is, so many of the songs that they grew up with sampled legends like Otis Redding or Curtis Mayfield. In a postmodern society, we depend on using what has come before us in order to evolve. True originality is a nearly impossible feat, but that does not prevent us from being able to use art to build art.
Artists who sample tracks are not maliciously trying to take something and call it their own; nine times out of ten, they are paying homage to their greatest musical influences.
It’s not like these songs don’t have their own personality. They are bringing songs that they grew up with back to the spotlight for younger generations to hear. Sampling is a different type of talent, where one must take what is given and craft it into something of their own.
If you are one who doesn’t particularly love the use of samples in today’s (or yesterday’s) songs, I challenge you to listen to one of these songs and dig deeper. You will find the origins of the artist and a new world may just open up to you.
