De La Soul: The Samples

The Samples

De La Soul talk to Ebro Darden

From Apple Music

When it comes to samples, De La Soul and producer/mentor Prince Paul thought outside the box—if that box was a milk crate stuffed with James Brown breaks. The four of them pulled esoteric vinyl relics from dusty purgatory, reviving them with clever sample techniques and nimble rhymes. By eschewing prevailing wisdom that “Funky Drummer” or “Big Beat” had to be used in every late ‘80s/early '90s rap production, their creative sampling established De La Soul and Prince Paul as subversive antiheroes challenging hip-hop’s establishment. The use of The Mighty Ryeders' funky “Evil Vibrations” on “A Roller Skating Jam Called 'Saturdays'” flicked on a mirror ball when roller disco was largely an afterthought. Classic rock nerds bobbed their head to De La’s “Eye Know,” which cribbed Steely Dan’s ‘70s FM jam “Peg.” And only seven years had passed when Daryl Hall and John Oates’ “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)” found a second life as the backbone of De La’s anti-crack message, “Say No Go.”