Jazz-Rap and the Acid Jazz Bridge
90s JazzSamples in Rap
The early 1990s saw hip-hop producers dig deeply into the jazzcatalog. Pete Rock, DJ Premier, Guru, and A Tribe Called Quest built an entire aesthetic around flipping jazz: piano runs, trumpet phrases, double-bass grooves. Albums like Jazzmatazz and Midnight Marauders defined jazz-rap, and their influence persists in every lo-fi beat made today.
The source records
Roy Ayers -- Everybody Loves the Sunshine
1976
What was sampled
Vibraphone melody
Sampled in
- 1993Digable Planets -- Rebirth of Slick
- 1993Souls of Mischief -- 93 til Infinity
Ahmad Jamal -- I Love Music
1977
What was sampled
Piano loop
Sampled in
- 1994Nas -- NY State of Mind
Related sample eras
Want to hear these samples side-by-side? Goat Music makes short videos showing exactly how each flip was made -- source and derivative, together.
Explore sample breakdownsDig the crates on Goat Music.