Top 10 Samples in Hip-Hop History

admin on Apr 7th 2009

I have been thoroughly enjoying DJ Functual’s informative 20-part series (which is still very much ongoing) documenting the greatest breaks used in the history of hip-hop. As someone who spent their teenage years listening to rap only to forsake the genre when I began discovering the funk and soul songs they sampled, this has given me a good dose of nostalgia. ‘Crate digging’ turned me on to good music and Funktual’s unbridled enthusiasm and encyclopedic knowledge has uncovered plenty of greats I didn’t even know, like Leon Haywood’s I Want’a Do Something Freaky to You. He’s also made a top-10 of rock and reggae covers, as well as Kanye West and Isaac Hayes specials – which are fun whether you recognise the breaks or not.