The Blueprint Of Hip-hop
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Hip-hop surfaced in the mid-1970s and flourished notably throughout the 1980s, heavily influenced by the art of sampling.
James Brown, known as the Godfather of Soul, was instrumental in shaping early hip-hop; but so was the Blue Note catalogue.
During the nascent era of hip-hop, sampling followed a chaotic and unregulated approach. However, Blue Note, under the leadership of the late Bruce Lundvall, helped in the process of the legitimization of sampling by granting access to their catalogue to London hip-hop group Us3.
The outcome was their 1992 smash hit “Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia),” constructed around a sample from Herbie Hancock’s timeless track “Cantaloupe Island.”
“The influence cuts both ways—from jazz to hip hop and back again,” says John Lewis at The Guardian.
Groups like A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, and Digable Planets were particularly drawn to the funk-driven recordings from the late 60s and early 70s released by Blue Note.
They frequently sampled tracks by guitarist Grant Green, keyboardist Ronnie Foster, flutist Bobbi Humphrey, singer Marlena Shaw, organist Lonnie Smith, and alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson.
Other influential hip-hop artists who found inspiration in Blue Note’s discography include Public Enemy, Dr. Dre, De La Soul, 2Pac, Ice-T, Busta Rhymes, Ice Cube, and the Beastie Boys.
Kendrick Lamar’s collaboration with jazz-fusion saxophonist Kamasi Washington and bassist Stephen “Thundercat” Bruner (both known for their work with Flying Lotus), played a great role in defining the contemporary sound of the genre — mainly due to its heavily jazz-infused sampling and the commercial success that followed.
Flying Lotus (aka Stephen Ellison), the nephew of Alice and John Coltrane, has played a significant role in reshaping the sound of modern hip hop.
“We’ve now got a whole generation of jazz musicians who have been brought up with hip-hop. We’ve grown up alongside rappers and DJs, we’ve heard this music all our life. We are as fluent in J Dilla and Dr Dre as we are in Mingus and Coltrane.” Says Kamashi Washington.
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