The Art of Curating : Samples
Lead By A Sample
Recently, I’ve noticed a trend in R&B music that has yet to really work for R&B artists and fans alike. For years hip hop artists have sampled R&B music for numerous hits, but despite success the trend never made it’s way back into R&B. Sure, there are many covers of R&B classics but very rarely has R&B sampled other R&B records. Hip hop has sampled hip hop,why can’t it work for R&B? Well, 2015 was a huge year for what looks to be a trend that is here to stay.
Without getting into the technicalities of what sampling is, let’s look more into how a well placed sample makes us feel. During the Just Blaze/Kanye West era of the Roc-A-Fella regime, you could hear bits and pieces of your parent’s favorite record. Or let’s take the West Coast G-Funk period in which you would find instrumentation laced with some of the most infamous bass lines we have ever heard.
Samples take us to a place, a moment specifically unique to you.
July of 2015, Toronto crooner Tory Lanez released “Say It”, his spin on Brownstone’s 1995 hit, “If You Love Me.” The chorus utilizes the spaces in the original’s chorus to perfection, creating a catchy melody that landed as high as #3 on the Billboards for US R&B and Hip Hop Airplay. Twenty years later and we all remembered exactly where we were when we first heard “If You Love Me”. I was on the way to school, riding shotgun with my mother, while she sung her heart out.
West Coast based collective Soulection has also played a major role in this new found mashup of modern day R&B and it’s counterparts of yesteryear. Their carefully selected group of producers, DJ’s and artists all come together in one incredible blend that’s good for the soul. Anyone who has attended one their events, are placed in a time machine worthy of an appearance in any upcoming Back To The Future film. Seriously, the essence they are able to capture makes reflecting on the GoldenLlAge of R&B one hell of a time.
Kehlani and her go-to producer Jaahan Sweet are also early adopters to the trend along with Bryson Tiller, who released his single, “Exchange”, a tranquil rendition of K.P & Envyi’s “Swing My Way”. The list goes on and on, I’ve put together a list of some of my favorite sampled R&B records that have come out in the last year or so. Hope you all enjoy.
Peace & love,
#UpCloseAndRnB
