Kanye West-The Samples

Now that the music community's fickle eye has moved passed Yeezus to Jay Z's MCHG, it's ironically the perfect time to take a clearer look at Kanye's newest album. Now that all the instant reactions have passed and the reviews have been posted, the noise has died down and the music has a little space to breathe. But, before I post my thoughts, I want to take a look back on what has been one of the highlights of Kanye's music since his first mixtape: his samples. No matter what you think of Kanye as an artist, you have to appreciate his ear for music which ranges from the souliest Motown to Bollywood ballads. From what I can tell (after an excessive amount of time searching) all of these mixtapes aren't presented ANYWHERE else together online so so here are mixtapes of all (except Late Registration which seemingly doesn't exist) the samples from all of Kanye's six albums and a bonus mixtape from his G.O.O.D. Friday series. Enjoy the incredible variety of tunes! A full Spotify playlist of all these is coming soon!

College Dropout

Late Registration (Impossible to find!)

Graduation

808s and Heartbreak (Video Only)

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Yeezus

WhoSampled Database

G.O.O.D. Friday Series

Kanye West Samples

I can't believe I've never seen this before. This clip shows Kanye's samples throughout some of his greatest songs and though I've already highlighted two of my all time favorite samples he's used, seeing them chopped up in mixed together in this ratatouille style video really shows the breadth and depth of the samples Kanye has flipped. I've always wondered if he just has an insanely large music library or if he has all of his cousins' children listening to old _________ (any genre, any artist) all day long. Whatever it is, it's working. Check out the video below.

Kanye West & Jay Z-New Day

Kanye and Jay-Z's brand new album is a self-pat on the back by the two, heavily weighed down with a gold Cartier watch. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. Part of rap's appeal has almost always been a sense of escapism, a combination of both admiration and envy for those who have come out of mostly nothing to now live a life that can dream of. But where Watch The Throne bogs itself down is when it starts to feel like a private VIP party that you have to watch with binoculars a mile away behind velvety ropes.

Where it succeeds is when the two descend from their Mt. Olympus and no track exhibits this more than "New Day" featuring verses from the two on top of a RZA beat/"connect." A letter to their unborn sons (sup Tupac), both Kanye and Jigga deliver heartfelt verses which expound on their own lives, current insecurities and doubts, and focus on promises that are at the heart of the American dream: a better life for your children than you had. On top of a dope Nina Simone sample (a former jamandahalf) the entire track feels stripped down, a removal of all the Louis Vutton suitcases, Hermes scarves, European boutiques, Maybachs, and gold which ooze from most of the tracks on the album. It's ironic that the two really show that the figurative throne really is there when they take away from its opulence, when they show that they are just two cats from Brooklyn and Chicago that had a dream and now are living enormous.

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Jay-Z & Kanye West New Day

Kanye West-Home (Bootleg)

Let's keep the soul going. Kanye West has always been known for having an ear for samples, an ear for being able to capture the perfect part of an obscure song, flipping it, and turning it into a full length banger. Although I have no idea where the sample used in this jam comes from, it sounds undeniably right. This is the original version of the track that was later known as "Homecoming" (featuring Chris Martin) found on the Graduation album, but lyrics aside, it's hard to find even a glancing similarity between the two. The looped sample, the somewhat suspect sound quality, the passion with which the young Kanye delivers his lines, all of it takes me back to when I first heard this song-2003, even before College Dropout dropped. Back then my buddy gave me a cd full of tracks by an artist named Kanye West, something which sounds incredibly dated, even though it was only eight years ago. Before Kanye became the international superstar he is today, he was just a young producer who had dreams of becoming a rapper, and a magic touch for making tracks like this-a true jamandahalf which combines storytelling, a twist ending, and most especially, a heaping serving of a little something called soul.

 Kanye West - Home by jammininthenameof

Kanye West-Family Business

More than presents, more than the snow outside the window in Itakoski, Finland (my mother’s hometown, a stone’s throw away from the Arctic Circle), Christmas has always been most about family for me. Especially after I went to college and my family moved back to Ghana, I typically have seen my family only twice a year-Christmas and summer break. Christmas was usually a blur of jetlag and the Finnish traditions that we still keep, but mainly it was a time to catch up and just kick it.

Kanye’s latest is getting accolades from all over the place, and the blogosphere has pretty unanimously named it the best album of the year. It probably deserves it, but I would still much rather listen to The College Dropout over MBDTF any day of the week. While Kanye has become much more polished and intricate with his production, and his flow has come a long way, his first album still holds a special place for me, and I think marked a significant transition in rap history. On this jamandahalf, Kanye brings the entire family along. Over a perfectly lazy beat, Kanye talks about the ups-and-downs of all families, the good times and the times when you wish you were anywhere but with your kin. His stories are instantly relatable, because I know we all have enough tales to write a song about each of our families, but then again, that is your family business. You can always choose your friends but you can’t choose your family, and that’s the best part. Merry Christmas everyone. 

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Jam Behind The Jam #3: Strange Fruit

JamBehindtheJam is a little feature we do highlighting the background of a sample that appears in a modern jam. Especially in rap, sampling old classics has become an art, and not only sounds amazing when done right, but also exposes listeners to music and artists that they may have never heard of otherwise. Enjoy.

Nina Simone hasn't been on these pages in far too long, Common just was. Put Common on a dope Kanye beat with a Nina sample? Certified jamandahalf.

Hip-Hop has always had a strong conscious streak, one that is in an everlasting fight against the typical stereotypes of rap. Common has been one of the foremost figures in this fight, and has been dropping quality music since 1992 and his debut album Can I Borrow A Dollar? Off of an unreleased track meant for his underrated 2007 album Finding Forever, "Strange Fruit" is a perfect fusion of the best that both conscious rap (Common's smooth but hungry flow, thought-provoking lyrics) and mainstream rap (a helluva beat, a John Legend chorus) have to offer and tops it off with a haunting Nina Simone sample. Common flows about coming up from hardships and dark times, using the past to guide and strengthen you, while making positive moves today. Common sounds at his most natural over a great Kanye beat, and this song proves that point.

The sample, the reason for this posting, is of the Nina Simone cover of Billie Holliday's "Strange Fruit." Written by a Jewish high-school teacher in response to Southern lynchings of young blacks, "Strange Fruit" became an underground protest song in NY until Billie Holiday recorded it. Nina Simone's version of this classic track maintains the simplicity of the original, only broken by Simone's complex and powerful voice. The calmness of the music is in stark contrast to its dark and violent lyrics which compare lynched blacks to "strange fruit" which hangs in trees in the South. The metaphor of fruit is used throughout the song, emphasizing that years of racism and extreme inequality in the South was bearing fruit, in this case a bitter and painful fruit. It works on many levels, but works even better as a testimony to those who suffered from abuse in the South. Common treats the sample with the proper care it deserves and drops two great verses, while Kanye once again uses the past to infuse the present with life, creating a beat which Common makes his own.

 Common-Strange Fruit f. John Legend (Jamandahalf.com) by jamand1/2

 Nina Simone-Strange Fruit (Jamandahalf.com) by jamand1/2

Kanye West feat. Raekwon & Kid Cudi-Gorgeous

I've played basketball for most of my life and I remember when I was young and watching Michael Jordan during some of his biggest games. Jordan played a level of basketball that not only was incredible to watch, but also one that was inspiring. I vividly remember times after watching Jordan put up 30 on a helpless defense going out to my basketball hoop and shooting hoops till the last light faded. The only cement that my "court" had was a small sliver of sidewalk that ran in front of the hoop, the rest was grass and dirt. Didn't matter. I was inspired.

Kanye's new album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is like an epic Jordan performance. It's not only great to listen to, it's also a wakeup call to other rappers, saying hey fellas, time to go shoot some more jumpers. Kanye's verses have a hunger to them that I've never heard before from him, perhaps indicating a desire to be considered one of the best rappers in the game, rather than just as a great entertainer. Some of his best G.O.O.D. Friday tracks are on the album, but all are reworked and redone. Like expected, the production on the album is stellar, and many of the songs have a multidimensionality that I've never heard before (see "Blame Game"). My favorite track so far is "Gorgeous" featuring Kid Cudi on the hook (and sounding way more comfortable than he does on parts of his new album) and Raekwon coming in the 9th inning of the song and hitting a walk off homer. "Gorgeous" has three verses (three!) from Kanye and clocks in at almost 6 minutes, a quick indication from Kanye on the second track of his album that he's back to rapping, and is coming for the crown. As far as I'm concerned, it's his.

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Kanye & Jay Z-Power (Remix)

Some rappers find a niche. A groove. Make the same sounding music for years and years. Talk about the same subjects, stick to the same flow, have similar beats by the same five producers. They ride comfortably for years until they finally fade into rap oblivion. They say do what you do best, and rappers like Juvenile and Busta Rhymes have done just that, and made careers of it.

Say what you will about Kanye, regardless of whether you like him or not, but he is anything but predictable. Whether it be his videos, award show wearits, or style, Kanye has shown an almost ravenous pursuit of doing what is not expected of him. With his classic debut album College Dropout (just gets better and better with age), Kanye introduced himself to the world as a  rapper/producer who has the ability to chef up dope beats from classic soul, blues, and jazz samples (even reworking a jamandahalf by a gay British guy and making it his own). Three albums later (including his experimental 808’s and Heartbreaks) Kanye is at a crossroads of his career.

Luckily all signs point to great things from Mr. West. On his untitled fifth album, Kanye has worked with everyone from Jay-Z to Bon Iver, experimenting with his own talents, and shifting hip hop’s direction at the same time. The “Power” remix is Kanye pulling off his gloves and taking it to the rap game. Proving his point that he can “rap with Jigga,” Kanye drops three fire verses with three different flows, a lyrical roulette. On the third verse, Ye gets crazier than a Tea Party convention, flowing on top of a frenzied beat with a classic Jock Jam sample. From a rapper who easily could have easily taken his millions and made ambient autuned tunes the rest of his life, seeing his fire and drive is refreshing.

  Power (rmx) f. Jay-Z & Swizz Beatz by jamsfordays