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The History of Sampling, From James Brown to Jay Z


January 28, 2014 | Andy Cush

Sampling has been an integral part of Western music for decades, from the French musique concrète composers of the 1940s, to the introduction of commercially available instruments like the Mellotron and the MPC, to today, with Beyoncé using Star Search intros and snippets of TED Talks in her songs and Jay Z and Kanye lifting from Blades of Glory .

In his latest remix video, the Eclectic Method takes us on a tour of the most notable samples of hip hop and dance music history, touching on classics like “Funky Drummer,” “Amen, Brother,” “UFO,” and many others. It’s all mixed together smoothly, so you get a seamless look at the songs that provide the background for so much great music. Watch it above. For more on sampling, check out ANIMAL’s column Sample Wars.