It's always great when you get to real up on some history of a track that has been bobbing in your head for a good few years. I read the Hip-Hop Edition of last winter's Waxpoetics and was gleefuly introduced to Tyrone Thomas And The Whole Darn Family.
Whilst this Virginia based 6 piece was a new name to my years, the greatest track they ever produced has been playing on my stereo in different guises over the last couple of years. Seven Minutes of Funk was a track included in their 1976 album Has Arrived and has been a part of hip-hop sampling history having been used by artists ranging from Wu-Tang Clan, Jay-Z, Q-Tip, Gravediggaz and EPMD.
The article later goes on to explain that due to Tyrone Thomas' trusting nature, he lost 100% of his publishing rights and fifty percent of his writer's. His attempt at contacting the various rap megastars about his willingness to promote other tracks he and his band has to offer fell mostly on deaf ears notably from Jay-Z's camp whose adaptation of Seven Minutes of Funk, Aint No Nigga with Foxy Brown pretty much launched his career. It's a sad tale to hear and only confirms the cut throat nature of the music business. Nevertheless the track is now legendary and the original is still spinned by DJs and fans alike. To give you a taste of the original and how they've been adopted by various rap artists over the years here are a few YouTube samples for your pleasure:
Whilst this Virginia based 6 piece was a new name to my years, the greatest track they ever produced has been playing on my stereo in different guises over the last couple of years. Seven Minutes of Funk was a track included in their 1976 album Has Arrived and has been a part of hip-hop sampling history having been used by artists ranging from Wu-Tang Clan, Jay-Z, Q-Tip, Gravediggaz and EPMD.
The article later goes on to explain that due to Tyrone Thomas' trusting nature, he lost 100% of his publishing rights and fifty percent of his writer's. His attempt at contacting the various rap megastars about his willingness to promote other tracks he and his band has to offer fell mostly on deaf ears notably from Jay-Z's camp whose adaptation of Seven Minutes of Funk, Aint No Nigga with Foxy Brown pretty much launched his career. It's a sad tale to hear and only confirms the cut throat nature of the music business. Nevertheless the track is now legendary and the original is still spinned by DJs and fans alike. To give you a taste of the original and how they've been adopted by various rap artists over the years here are a few YouTube samples for your pleasure:
The Whole Darn Family - Seven Minutes of Funk (Audio only):
Jay-Z & Foxy Brown - Aint No Nigga:
EPMD - It's My Thing (Audio only):
Gravediggaz - Death Trap (Audio only). This is personally my favourite adaptation as Prince Paul doesn't just sample the full original bass and beat but really chops them up without losing any of its funkyness:
No comments:
Post a Comment