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The Art of Sampling #1, James Brown's "In the Jungle Groove" (1984) Apr 04, 2019

Show notes

The Album: James Brown: In the Jungle Groove (1986) This is the first of what will eventually be four episodes, released quarterly, that focus on the art of sampling. As Morgan explains in this episode, sampling isn't simply a key aesthetic within pop music styles, especially hip-hop, it's also an important way through which the past becomes present, allowing us to rediscover artists of yore. No artist in the 1980s benefitted more from this than James Brown. By the end of the decade, Brown's long funk discography had seemingly been mined thousands of ways over but if you had to trace things back to a ground zero, you'd find In the Jungle Groove, the 1986 compilation from Polydor that practically felt designed for sampling, especially by highlighting some of Brown's fiercest and funkiest tracks, complete with new edits and remixes, none more far-reaching than "Funky Drummer," a former 45-only jam that the comp not only released in its full form but also took Clyde Stubblefield's iconic breakbeat and looped it into its own standalone track. For our inaugural Art of Sampling episode, we revisit In the Jungle Groove and talk about both our favorite songs off the comp as well as our favorite uses of those various tracks. Listen to how we give it up and turn it loose. More on In the Jungle Groove

Album reviews (Rolling Stone 500 and Pop Matters)
Sampling database (WhoSampled)
"The natural history of the 'Funky Drummer' break"

Show Tracklisting (all songs from In the Jungle Groove unless indicated otherwise):

Funky Drummer
Digable Planets: Where I'm From
N.W.A.: Fuck Tha Police
Public Enemy: Fight the Power
Funky Drummer
Nas: Get Down
The Incredible Bongo Band: Apache
Nas: Made You Look
Masta Ace Incorporated: Boom Bashin'
George Michael: Waiting For That Day
Skull Snaps: It's A New Day
The Winstons: Amen Brother
Public Enemy: Bring the Noise
Funky Drummer
Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose
Talkin' Loud And Sayin' Nothing
Keek and Qagee: Don't Say It, Sing It
Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose
Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved
Gang Starr: Gotch U
CeCe Peniston: Finally (Remix)
Full Force: Ain't My Type of Hype
Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved
Hot Pants
I Got To Move
Showbiz and AG: Diggin' In The Crates
Cypress Hill: How I Can Just Kill A Man (Blunted Remix)
Funky Drummer

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there.

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Joey Dosik on Bill Withers's "+Justments" (1974) Mar 28, 2019

Show notes

The Album: Bill Withers: +Justments (1974) Despite the massive success of Withers's first two albums, Just As I Am and Still Bill, label problems prevented +Justments (his fourth LP) from being released on CD until 2010. As such, it's been a sleeper of an album despite how good it is. Withers was never the most confessional of artists but this album, which came about during the dissolution of Withers's marriage to Denise Nicholas (amidst accusations of abuse), is about as close to he gets to talking about his personal life via song. Meanwhile, scoring all this were former members of the Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band, as good a rhythm section that any artist in L.A. could hope to be hooked up with. +Justments was the pick by L.A. soulster Joey Dosik, who's recorded extensively with Vulfpeck but has recently branched into his solo career with his debut album from last year, Inside Voice, which includes a cover of "Stories" from Withers's album. Amongst other things, we discussed how Dosik discovered this slept-on album in his ex-girlfriend's crates, how he learned his own singing voice by studying Withers's, and how drumming great James Gadson is supernaturally clean in the pocket.

We are in the home stretch of the MaxFunDrive! If you like what we make, please head over to maximumfun.org/donate and become a member today! Your support means the world to us.

Note: the first half of our episode was taped in the MaxFun kitchen on a remote rig because the power had gone out in our building. We were able to get back into the studio properly for the second half but we apologize for the uneven sound quality of the first half. More on Joey Dosik

"Joey Dosik Talks NBA-Inspired 'Running Away' & Getting A Pep Talk From Quincy Jones" (Billboard)
Interview with Atwood Magazine
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