Party With US...

December 4th 2010 “The Sample Hour”

So… A couple of weeks ago my man, Siks 9 aka Harold (US), came through to chill. I picked him up at the light rail. I had to make a store run for something to sip on. On the way to the store we began talking. I asked him if he had heard the new Roots cd. His reply was no and that he had only been listening to old school music. So I was like, no doubt, I had been getting my old school Hip Hop fix in also. He said to me no, real old school music. Old school as in our parents music. I said ok I feel you, play some so I can hear what you have been rocking to. He plugged his iPhone into the jack and this journey began.

He played song after song after song. I’m talking about James Brown, Bob James, George Clinton, Lynn Collins, Isaac Hayes, Curtis Mayfield, Roy Ayers, and so many others. Every song he played had one thing in common. Each song had been sampled, some heavily, by Hip Hop. It was just incredible to me! We got back to the house and I threw some food on the grill. We grabbed some drinks and sat out in the backyard for hours listening to these songs. We called P-Collino aka Preston (US) and had him on speakerphone because we knew he would love the music. He has been on is old school listening kick for a long time and his collection of old school music is so extensive. We listened not just for the great music, but for the sample. We listened for the piece of the song where Hip Hop producers got their inspiration to make a beat. Some call it stealing or borrowing or lack of originality. We in the Hip Hop world call it sampling. It is an art form that is far from “lack of originality.” In fact it’s just the opposite. For a producer to take a piece of a song, some pieces no longer than five seconds, and turn it into a completely different beat with a completely different feel is very original. At least it is to me.

As we sat back there listening to these songs I began thinking of how US this was. I said to Siks, we need to do something on a large scale to show how Union Specific this was. I said to him we should have an event/party to highlight how relevant these old school songs are to Hip Hop and US. Some of these songs I have never heard before, and I know you haven't either, but as soon as I heard the sampled part I knew which Hip Hop artist used it, the name of the song it was used on, which album it was used on and the year it came out. I decided then and there that this had to go down. Sik 9 and P-Collino was down. All that was left to do was put the rest of the puzzle together. If my life is a puzzle, where do you fit in?

I will have complete details for the party as we get a little closer to the date. Save the date and make travel plans. D.C., December 4th,"The Sample Hour" Thanks to my man Kee(US) for putting me in touch with the right people out there.