It's 1996 and LL Cool J's "Loungin (Remix)" is playing on the radio.... Who do you love? (I wanna lounge wit' you)
Are you for sure? (I do what I gotta do)
Who do you love? (I wanna lounge wit' you)
Are you for sure? (I do what I gotta do)
You're jamming out listening to the sounds of an LL Cool and Total hit when later on in the day you hear what you think is "Loungin" again, but then it's not....
Tell me your name
('Cuz I wanna know)
What car do you drive?
(And tell me where can we go)
How much money do you make
(How can I be down)
As long as you have
(I'll be around)
Instead you're listening to sounds of "Tell Me" by the group Shades. In this case the hooks are eerily similar as well. But this happens in music from time to time. Whether the producer originally gave it to someone and reworked it for someone else, whether a record label caught wind of a song and used the same sample and tried to beat the release, or for whatever other reason that may have caused a similar situation, it happens.
For some reason in 1996 we had quite a few examples and quite a few nice tracks that came out of it. Here are the cases we had that year, so take a listen and take a trip back and notice the similarities of these known and not so well known songs.
1) Busta Rhymes"Woo Hah! I Got You All In Check" & Faith Evans "I Just Can't"
sampling Galt MacDermot's - "Space"
Busta Rhymes' single burst onto the seen in the Spring of 1996, while Faith Evans "I Just Can't" dropped in the Fall of 1996 and was included on the fantastic High School High soundtrack. Busta's track was EVERYWHERE. Faith Evans' track had decent radio and video play and seemed to gain a larger following years after it was released. However, give a listen to "I Just Can't" and you'll notice how well the song has aged.
2) Blackstreet's "Don't Leave Me" & 2pac feat Danny Boy's "I Ain't Mad At Cha" sampling Debarge's "A Dream"
In this case both songs were released around the same time in the Fall of 1996. While Blackstreet's "No Diggity" was a smash and stuck around for a very long time, "Don't Leave Me" became an R&B classic in its own right. 2pac's video version for "I Ain't Mad At Cha" tweaked the sample it used for the album version and gave it more of a smooth R&B feel. Look out for Bokeem Woodbine in "I Aint Mad At Cha" while "Don't Leave Me," features a cameo from oversized playing cards.
3) Foxy Brown's "Gotta Get U Home" & Yvette Michelle's "I'm Not Feelin You (Remix)" sampling Eugene Wilde's "Gotta Get You Home Tonight"
Technically the 12" version for Yvette Michelle's remix dropped in 1997 but the original dropped in 1996. Of course, most people will remember Foxy's "Gotta Get U Home" featuring Blackstreet on the hook and the single that went up against Lil Kim's "No Time" as both were rising to stardom. DJ's will play the remix to Yvette Michelle's quite often and that's a great thing considering the uptempo rhythms it produces.
4) Montell Jordan feat. Slick Rick's "I Like" & 112 feat Notorious BIG's "Only You" sampling George McCrae's "I Get Lifted"
Both songs came out around the same time in the Summer of 96', and in the case of 112's "Only You," it was quickly replaced by the remix video which became the more well known version that continues to get tons of airplay in the present. "I Like" was featured on the loaded Nutty Professor soundtrack and ended up getting as high as #28 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.
5) Large Professor - "Ijuswannachill" & De La Soul "Dinninit" sampling Milt Jackson's "Enchanted Lady"
Although Large Professor released 2 singles in 1996 ("The Mad Scientist" being the other), his album never officially dropped until years later in 2002. Stuck in limbo due to a record label decision, both his singles had video releases and then hopes of an album seem to fade away. De La Soul's "Dinninit" wasn't an actual single but because the album is well known and loved, I decided to include it here.
6) Fab 5 (Helthah Skeltah & OGC) - Leflaur Leflah Eskoshka" & Bahamadia "Spontaneity" sampling Cataylst's "Uzuri"
Fab 5's track got airplay in 1995 but ran into 1996 and even made the Rap City Top 30 countdown for the year of 1996. Classic track, classic music video, the song is one of Duck Down Records best tracks. "Spontaneity" wasn't released as a single but same concept as De La Soul. If you were listening to everything that dropped in the Hip Hop world in 1996 you know when Bahamadia's track comes on you probably simultaneously think of Fab 5 as well.
7) Quad City DJ's "C'mon Ride The Train" & Luke's "Scarred" sampling Barry White and The Love Unlimited's "Theme From Together Brothers.
Who could forget "Cmon Ride The Train"? One of the breakout songs of 1996 that got played way too much, yet now that much time has passed it seems like a classic throwback that usually gets people hyped up that the song is actually playing. Funny how that works with a lot of songs as we get older. Meanwhile, Luke's "Scarred" was on the little known "Eddie" soundtrack, the Whoopi Goldberg basketball movie that also included Dru Hill's first hit song "Tell Me."
Comments