Every Producer’s Best Sample Flip – The South

What would music be without producers? From the well-known ones like Quincy Jones (RIP), Dr. Dre, and Teddy Riley, to the more underground ones like The Alchemist and Conductor Williams, producers have shaped the way music is made for over half a century. But, the one genre where producers are the most recognized is, of course, hip-hop, due to its heavy reliance on sampling. A good producer needs to have a musical ear for things that most humans might not hear, it could be a one-second snippet, or many layered chops of random parts of a song. This series will comprise the best sample flip from producers from each coast (East, West, Midwest, and South). The criteria is simple: each producer can only have one song to their name, the beat has to contain a sample, the song needs to be officially released, and the track has to include rapping on it (so no ‘beat tape’ albums like Donuts or Special Herbs).

Metro Boomin – Future’s “Mask Off” (2017)

Anyone who has listened to hip-hop in the past half a decade knows who Metro Boomin is. He has produced for every Atlanta rapper, has praise from the legends, and has multiple platinum songs, one of which being “Mask Off” by Future. “Mask Off” samples the flute you hear at the opening of Calton Williams’s “Prison Song”. Pluto immediately heard this beat and hopped in the studio. At that moment, a classic was born. Fun fact: Kendrick Lamar loved the beat on “Mask Off” so much, he recorded a remix. Honorable mentions for top Metrooohh! tracks go to The Weeknd and Diddy’s “Creepin’”, Future and Kendrick Lamar’s “Like That”, and Kanye West’s “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1”.

Organized Noize – Big Boi’s “Kill Jill” (2017)

Organized Noize was the centerpiece to Atlanta’s big Hip-Hop and R&B boom in the late 90s. They produced for amazing southern groups like TLC, Goodie Mob, and, of course, OutKast. Once OutKast split up, Big Boi still worked with Organized Noize for a few songs later in his career. And, the crown jewel of those tracks is “Kill Jill”. Noize chopped up a few parts from the 2 minute and 4 second mark of “DATA 2.0” by Aura Qualic, and turned it into a dirty south banger, featuring Killer Mike and Jeezy. Honorable mention goes to OutKast’s “ATLiens”

J. Cole – Kendrick Lamar’s “HiiiPower” (2011)

He gets his props as a rapper certainly, but Cole very rarely gets his producer just-due. Probably because the beats that he makes for himself are a bit shaky quality-wise, while when he makes beats for other artists, they are almost always fantastic! A great example is his collaboration with another great 2010s MC, Kendrick Lamar, on “HiiiPower”. Cole chops up “Hang on to A Dream” by Jerimy Sting at the 1:40 and 1:52 marks respectively, to make a fantastic beat. I love the flute, and the fact that not many rap instrumentals use it makes it even better. If you had to choose someone to make a beat to close an album as great as Section. 80, it would undoubtedly be Mr. Jermaine Cole.

Bangladesh – Lil Wayne’s “A Milli” (2008)

Yeah, this was the most obvious pick ever. Nothing screams ICONIC like that one little sound that Phife Dawg makes on the Vampire Mix to “I Left My Wallet…” pitched down and looped. Even though we can all admit that Wayne’s performance is legendary, let’s not forget how cool it is that Bangladesh kept switching up the beat to make it less stale than just the vocal sample, a kick, and a snare. Honorable mention goes to the equally iconic “6 Foot, 7 Foot”.

Travis Scott – “Hell of a Night” (2013)

Travis Scott is just a pure artist. He can create beautiful melodies, rap his a** off, etc. But, he mainly blew up because of his production work, and nothing shows his sampling expertise more than “Hell of a Night”. Travis took Oliver James’s “Fleet Foxes” at around 14 seconds, took the words “your brother’s house in the valley”, chopped it up, added synths and a piano line, and created a harmonic masterpiece. It is such a shame that Owl Pharaoh didn’t make it to music streaming with Days Before Rodeo, because I wish that this song finally gets its props outside of his core fanbase. Honorable mention goes to “90210”.

Juicy J – UGK & OutKast’s “Int’l Players Anthem” (2007)

It’s funny how one flip can change your whole perception of a producer. In the mid 2000s, Juicy J sampled the same artist, Willie Hutch, two different times. In 2005, he sampled “Theme of the Mack” for Three 6 Mafia’s “Poppin My Collar”, which is very grimy, and has a typical southern 2000s feel. But, in 2007, Juicy J did something more remarkable, and added trap drums to “I Choose You” and made it into not only one of the best songs of the 2000s, but one of the best beats in the genre’s 50-year history with “Int’l Players Anthem”. I love Andre 3000’s first verse, with him floating over no drums and talking about giving up his ”player” lifestyle for true love. But, then, when Pimp C enters, the drums go crazy, and it feels like a celebration of the best kind. Big Boi kills the track with his unique vocal inflections, and the beat rides off into the sunset.  

Timbaland – Aaliyah’s “Are You That Somebody” (1999)

Timbaland needs no introduction here, or ever. This superproducer brought you classics from JAY-Z (“Dirt off Your Shoulder”, “F*ckwithmeyouknowigotit”, “Hola Hovito”), Missy Elliot (literally her entire catalog), Justin Timberlake (“My Love”, “Sexy Back”, “Suit & Tie”), Ginuwine (“Pony”, “So Anxious”) , and the late-great Aaliyah. I chose “Are You That Somebody” for a specific reason: it is only one note. That’s right, a beat that most thought was very complex is only composed of the first note of “People Say” by The Meters. All Timbaland did was pitch it up and down to match the melody he was going for. That is insane. Oh yeah, and the iconic baby noise is also a sample. It is from “Happy Baby” by Jac Holzman. But, the drums are all Timba. Honorable mention goes to “Get Ur Freak On” by Missy Elliot. 

The Neptunes – JAY-Z’s “Excuse Me Miss” (2002)

Besides Timbaland, the other big hit-makers from the South for R&B were The Neptunes, composed of two superproducers from Virginia, Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo. But, the thing is, they don’t really sample that often (Digging the Greats literally just backed up my point). If you take a look at all of their big hits; yes they interpolate, but they don’t really sample. You can tell that their real talent comes from producing a beat from scratch, but it’s not like their talents are completely hindered when they do. Take “Excuse Me Miss” as an example. They sample the melody and background rhythm from Luther Vandross’s “Take You Out” and they take the drums from Prince’s “Walk Don’t Walk”, and the outcome is really well done, but they make better beats when they make a song organically.

Bushwick Bill – Geto Boys’ “Mind Playin’ Tricks On Me” (1991)

Issac Hayes has been sampled in many different ways in the history of hip-hop, but my favorite for sure has to be on the Geto Boys’ “Mind Playing Tricks On Me”. They take the creepy guitar lick of “Hung up On My Baby” (47 seconds) , and slow/pitch it down, so it sounds even more frightening. Not only that, but it pairs with Scarface, D, and Bill’s lyrics about paranoia so well. Also, I know it’s cliche, but please check out the Tiny Desk Version, you won’t regret it. 

Pharrell Williams (Solo) – Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright” (2015)

Pharrell has mostly kept the same habits as his early years with The Neptunes, but he has one of the greatest sample flips as a notch on his belt. He takes one of the most random vocal sample clips out of one of those sample preset packs, and uses it throughout the whole song, chopping it up in different pitches and patterns, almost exactly like what Timbo did in “Are You That Somebody”. Obviously, Terrace Martin’s saxophone playing is unmatched, and his soulful sax contributes so much to the song. And, this song is already a certified hip-hop classic despite having only debuted a short time ago.

And, those are my takes for the south. Did I miss any producers? Include your perspective in the comment section below.