SAMPLE SUNDAY----THE REED EDITION

First of all, I want to say Rest In Power to Lou Reed, iconic rocker and founder of The Velvet Underground.  He was an integral piece to that seminal punk rock scene that New York fostered, including varied characters such as Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Debbie Harry, David Bowie, Patti Smith, and many others.  You may not be familiar with his musical discography, but I am pretty sure that Hip Hop heads have heard this featured joint for Sample Sunday before. 

A Tribe Called Quest dug into the vaults to unearth a gem on their seminal debut Peoples Instinctive Travels And The Paths Of Rhythm.

The video made this jam even more noteworthy, in my opinion.

Q-Tip undoubtedly had (and still has) an impeccable ear for picking loops and samples, as witnessed by the 1972 RCA album from Lou Reed, Transformer.

  The David Bowie and Mick Ronson produced "Walk On The Wild Side" is easily recognizable from the first couple of seconds of listening.  I remember this song from my childhood during television commercials, or those six-plus hour drives from MD to NC cruising to easy listening stations along the way. 

 

 

This esoteric cut made the perfect backdrop for Tip and Phife to "kick it", so to speak.  When you listen closely to the Reed joint, you hear topics and themes ranging from sexuality and drugs, almost taboo subjects considering this song received a lot of radio play in the 1970's.  Nevertheless, the original made its way to the record collection and ears of Q-Tip at some point, leading way to a classic song being used to make a classic song on a classic album.

 

 

 

Again I say Rest In Power to Lou Reed.  Go visit his discography.  See where the quirky lyrics were derived.  Enjoy the artistry that is Lou Reed.  Appreciate the music.  Walk on the wild side.

 

 

Sources:

 

www.whosampled.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Reed