Prince Paul by egotripland.com
More than
just a beatmaker, Prince Paul
brings personality to the table: a raunchy Morgan Freeman sound alike, a sound
bite from the defunct TV comedy Get A Life,
or a well-timed fart joke all have made their way into his work. He also
pioneered the classic rap skit, a device in which he’s employed anyone from
Xzibit to Father Guido Sarducci to add a context and color to the narrative. As
the Undertaker of the Gravediggaz he’s also been credited with ushering in
rap’s horrorcore genre (something he deflected during our interview with an
evil “Ha ha ha!” followed by a fart noise).
From his
contributions as a youngin’ to Stetsasonic, to his time with De La as Plug
Four, to his Handsome Boy Modeling School collab with Automator, Paul’s quirky
approach is as sought after as it is copied. He’s made mad classics, and here
we proudly present the 10 favorite sample flips of this conventionally
unconventional clown prince among thieves.
READ & HEAR THEM AFTER THE JUMPY JUMP…
1. Jeru the Damaja – “Come Clean” (Payday, 1994)
Prince Paul: To me,
samples freak me out most when I have the record myself but never picked up on
what another producer did. This was used by Premier for Jeru’s famous “Come
Clean” and is one of those cases. I was like “Yo, I’ve had that record forever
but not ever even thought of using it!” No one knew around at the time really
knew what it was and the first chance I got, I ran up to Preemo and said,
“Shelly Manne!” [laughs] He was
like, “How’d you know?” and I was like, “Just let your lawyers know that I know
what that sample is!” [laughs]. That song
is now obviously classic but that sample is nuts.
2. Dr. Dre ft. Snoop Dogg – “Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang”
(Death Row, 1992)
Prince Paul: Dre used this
for “’G’ Thang”! It freaked me out because I never envisioned it as a hip-hop
song. It’s one of those that prove Dre has a good ear because he took the best,
most catchy part; even though the song is already so dope standing on its own.
The first time I heard it in a subway by some dude who was handing out Dre
promo tapes right before The Chronic
dropped. Dre’s latest work at that point was Efil4zaggin,
which I loved, but this was a far cry from that sound.
3) De La Soul – “Peas Porridge”
(Tommy Boy, 1991)
Prince Paul: De La’s “Peas
Porridge” is one that always struck me if I do say so myself [laughs]. Our
friend, Double B, found the sample off this weird children’s album and I took
it and flipped it for De La on “Peas Porridge.” We were all buggin’ off it and
I thought let’s make a song from it [laughs].
Samples like these are always cool to me because they’re so left field that
you’d never ever think of coming across in the first place let alone taking it
and making it it’s own thing.
4) DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh
Prince – “A Touch of Jazz” (Jive, 1987)
Prince Paul: From early
on, Jazzy Jeff used Marvin Gaye’s Trouble Man
record for the track “A Touch of Jazz”. It’s actually an old school break that
a lot of us already heard because we all know Marvin’s incredible catalog.
Again, it’s one of those where you can’t think of anyone doing anything with it
even though you’ve heard it a million times. The way he flipped it was simple
yet different and I can’t really recall samples being used like that – at least
at that point in time. Or maybe it’s just ‘cause I love the sample so much
[laughs].
5) Tribe Called Quest – “Verses From
the Abstract” (Jive, 1991)
Prince Paul: Tribe’s Low End Theory used this awesome track called “Star of
a Story” off Heatwave’s Central Heating
album. I thought about using that but they used it in such a good, slick way
that I didn’t dare touch it [laughs]! The
different types of records they used and just how many layers they placed and
where they placed was just so crazy. The diggin’ they do is insane.
6) Beastie Boys – “Get It Together”
(Grand Royal, 1994)
Prince Paul: Speaking of
Tribe and Q-Tip, that one Beastie Boys track they did together was nuts! The
hook is totally ridiculous. I was listening to it and just kept listening and
kept wondering who was singing. I just dropped it and kinda forgot about it
until one day I’m going through my records randomly and heard it! You know how
if you have tons of records you just overlook shit? It’s something I’d never
ever use but they got that from that one Eugene McDaniels’ Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse. They used
it for the hook and it’s so dope!
7) Diamond D ft. John Dough –
“Flowin’” (Mercury, 1997)
Prince Paul: Diamond D
used this and I always praised him for it. It was off his second album, Hatred, Passions and Infidelity. When you
admire another producer’s work, there are always one or two songs that strike
you more than others. This is a track that no one really talks about so I want
to touch on it. I remember because a lot of producers talk about records in a
very matter-of-fact way. And when Diamond mentioned the artist to me, I didn’t
know what he was talking about. I looked at him like he was crazy and he looked
at me like I was crazy! [laughs] I’m not a
DJ Shadow or Pete Rock or Diamond D – these cats rattle off rare records as if
everyone knows about ‘em [laughs].
8) Nelly – “Hot In Herre’”
(Universal, 2002)
Prince Paul: Man, this one
is a good one. I was at my place listening to the original sample for this with
Doug E. Fresh trying to figure out a way to use the melodic parts. It was about
a year before “Hot In Herre” came out. We were just messin’ with it and I swear
it was exactly a year later this single comes out and blows the fuck up! I saw
Doug E. later and he was like, “Yo you were right Paul!” and I was like “I know
I was right!” [laughs]. It’s just
a trip because this is one of those tracks everyone’s got in their record
sleeves and Pharrell ended up flippin’ it first!
9) Wu-Tang Clan – “Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t
Nuthin’ Ta F’ Wit” (Loud, 1993)
Psykhomantus Note: Not all tracks got recorded.
Download Link: http://www.mediafire.com/?6mlp2qbci4eb75z
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