Why This Drum Loop Was Sampled 800 TIMES

[@diggingthegreats]

Thank you to Bombas for sponsoring this video! One Purchased = One Donated, so head to bombas.com/diggingthegreats and use code DIGGINGTHEGREATS at checkout for 20% off your first purchase.

[@Positive_Tea]

DTG you tha bomb(as)

[@drindy5166]

Just subbed to your channel. Can't believe I haven't done so up till now. Your videos and insight is beyond incredible. Keep up the stellar work brother! 🔥👊🧡👍🔥

[@HolloMatlala1]

3:27 Soooo MUCH AWESOME on 1x Screen💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾

[@adonai944]

One of my favourite lines is on “As High as Wu-Tang Get” which samples this as well: “You can’t flow Must be the speech impediment Got lost off the snare Off Impeach the President”

[@MrChristoph0r]

The GZA on that track is disgusting.

[@baron0877]

Whether in Amsterdam smokin' seven grams of green Then you pack, a thousand white teens in tight jeans (lmao)

[@yetispaghetti5754]

Still my favorite Drum Sample of all time, the texture is so great for Hip-Hop production.

[@EV21]

Some stuff just feels like it was made for hiphop but decades prior. This is one of the best examples of that

[@djpage7]

For a log time heads would scoff at using drums from Ultimate Breaks & Beats; yes the loops have been used a lot, but for chopping they're fantastic. This one especially is just so gritty.

[@djCatScanRL]

That ‘New Day’ Skull Snaps was like an A.I. for drums. Still ain’t convinced that intro was organic lls 🤯

[@AxeMan808]

Impeach, Humpty, Funky Drummer.

[@distantcomets]

Great metaphor! That collection of beats is so iconic that the aesthetics and syncopation of the breaks has spawned dozens of sub-genres from early hip hop to drum and bass and EDM. Moreover, the thing I notice is that as samplers have advanced, the interaction between new technology and this collection of breaks is continually refreshed. You have SP1200's in the 80's, MPCs and ASR's in the 90's, Tritons and the first powerful DAWs in the 2000's, and Ableton and FL Studio now, all being combined with this wellspring of hip hop and sampled music, and giving tracks new textures and more complexity along the way.

[@mitchwinthrop]

Even before anyone thought of sampling, DJs back in the day were always seeking out records other DJs didn't know about. We would cover or scratch off the label so no one could spy the record and its details. I would take annual trips to New York just to get records that wouldn't be available in my city. As soon as the Ultimate Breaks and Beats showed up in Rock N Soul or (I think it was called; my memory is failing me) Record Factory, the huge store near Times Square, I bought every volume available at the time. We already had most of the originals of stuff on those compilations, like Big Beat by Billy Squire, Apache or Cheryl Lynn... but stuff like The Honeydrippers or Let's Dance To The Drummers Beat, weren't easily found. Every volume had at least two or three tracks that were impossible to find on the originals anymore. I eventually got two copies of every volume up to 25. There were other break compilations back then too like Super Disco Breaks, but the UBBs were by far the best. I wish they continued with more volumes... I hear there were some but they all had stuff that I already had on the originals. Now there's loads of breaks albums, especially out of the UK so it's not "special" anymore. But there's definitely enough obscure breaks out there to fill another 25 volumes. However in the digital age, it's not worth it. I loved DJing back then though, and the look on the faces and reaction from the dancefloor when you played that one record no one else could hear from anyone else, an iconic record you became known for was worth the crappy pay we got DJing in the 80s. 😂

[@PrintTim]

As someone who was in the UK in the late 80s, making hip-hop in our bedroom with a crappy Casio sampler and a Tascam Porta 05 4 track, the influence of Ultimate Breaks and Beats cannot be overstated. For a couple of years it was our bible. It gave us the knowledge to seek out other breaks. I think the Real book might be your best analogy 🎯 that’s exactly what it was. Good stuff.

[@user_unknown1488]

great times, if you didn't take your SBRs to a party then you had a big hole in your crates , especially if the mic was plugged in .

[@karlingram8471]

@PrintTim 😂😂😂 I'm in the US in New Jersey but same setup later on tho the 90s ✊🏿🫶🏿🤣🤣🤣✌🏿

[@NinjaTrackProductions]

If you were around when "Impeach the President" was released, chances are you were going to hear the song played on WBLS in New York. I was in Connecticut listening to the station when I used to hear it played in rotation. Chances are those producers/DJ's that sampled it also heard it as kids, long before Ultimate Break Beats added it to their catalogue. I'd be willing to bet Grandmaster Flash, Kool Herc, and Grand Wizard Theodore were also using it at parties in the late 70's, early 80's. Some R&B songs don't sell very much, but that doesn't mean folks apart of the culture aren't really familiar with the track. It's one of those break beats like "Amen, brother" that any real DJ has to have as part of his arsenal.

[@logandeboer1009]

That's a very valuable contribution. I think in the Era of streaming we figure that if someone listened to the song, that was tallied. But listening to the radio was free, and vinyl costed a lot of money. Cassette was the first time it was cheap to own music, and really even that required dub tapes. We forget, as radio dies as a media form, that radio used to be the primary source of news and media, especially music, anytime you weren't in front of the TV.

[@keithallen8693]

Thank you so much for this post! Many people don't know the local history of New York City radio and its influence on Hip-Hop culture in the early days.

[@DblTap317]

Good add! I remember in 90s and 2000s I was always trying to be the kid with all the dope music nobody ever heard. It wasn't always readily available you had to dig for stuff. I imagine that being much harder back before then as there was no computers or CD burners at all.

[@DonjayX]

Dope! You should do this for "Synthetic Substitution" next.

[@ashtonsgotsauce]

i wasn’t expecting the connection between real books and break records, you connect ideas so seamlessly.

[@CantTellYou]

Never would have thought of that but damn does it make perfect sense

[@Itssokrucial]

Facts I had the whole series of Ultimate Break & Beats. The Sound Pack Before Sound Packs, and as you said, Splice before Splice, Shout out to BreakBeat Lou!

[@lostinjazz]

Cosign that Lou & Lenny deserve way more mention for their effort in Golden Era Hip Hop!

[@EV21]

Side note: shout out whoever does the graphics on these videos. Love your visual language/palette

[@mochunk]

I have clocked this sample a million times. It still shows up. I never did quite know where it was from. Good stuff. Obviously it's no Amen break, but yeah it's everywhere.

[@chrishollister80]

Always loved Nice & Smooth's intro to Funky 4 You

[@rockjonez61]

AUDIO 2, TOP BILLIŃ! You didn’t include the most popular song after The Bridge to use this sample. Dope content!!! Keep it coming!!!!🎉

[@UrbnBarz]

I have the majority of the Ultimate Breaks & Beats LPs collected lovingly whenever they dropped right up to the Celebratory 25th Anniversary record. We were all out for DITC like Diamond D and Lord Finesse and so many others.

[@hippynurd]

That amen break story is totally worth checking out, its awesome.

[@NikFowler]

Adding to the Ultimate B&B compilations, some artists do this too - Paradox "Sample Me" series, take this to a new level. It's, "here's this sample I found, what can you do?"

[@skinnista]

So informative, Ive always loved the break. Thanks man!

[@dmaster5556]

Another thing that's awesome about the Ultimate Breaks & Beats series is that a handful of them have iconic album covers. There's also a handful that have a basic cover with a solid color like the one you showed off.

[@mitchwinthrop]

Yep.

[@briannicholson5747]

Amazing thing about Marley Marl chopping the drums is the use of the new at the time technology established a technique tons of producers still use today. Loading up some drum samples is like Step One now.

[@KaseboyAdvance]

Every producer should use the "Impeach The President" at least once in a beat. Even if its just a switch-up. Just to keep the culture alive. Honestly, one of the best Hip-hop breaks ever.

[@nicolesherman8974]

Digging the greats Friday 🔥🔥🔥

[@els1f]

I have to imagine it was sampled WAY more than 800 lol. The kick and open hat are probably hidden inside most samplers out there 😋 Edit: "the real book of hip hop" is a great analogy!

[@lowenbad]

I would love it if you covered “Bionic Booger Breaks” and the other related scratch records in that series.

[@georgesivridis7421]

My good man, thank you for opening up a new rabbit hole for me to fall into. Loved it, Excellent video!

[@TheRealAmyas]

Let’s go! Another amazing video!

[@authorless]

The UBB with "Impeach The President" was sitting on top of a stack of records right across the room from where I am sitting before I even pressed play on this video.

[@jrbhartford]

I was expecting a mention of "Top Billin". Isn't that a heavily-chopped Impeach the President beat?

[@wallacewallets7557]

top billin put impeach the president over.. they literally played that record once an hour..i have both the bridge/beat biter on 12" and top billin on 12" bought when they first dropped.. once i went to studio one i hopped on whosampled and started building my own drum kits.. it definitely a "cheat" but the whole thing with hip hop is technology ADVANCES the artform, and it took me a long time to accept that fact.. it's in a CONSTANT state of evolution

[@adamdavidvideos]

Another great video, thank you for all your content, I love this channel.

[@princelondon5911]

Top 3 favorite drums samples for me 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@djkizone]

Talking about slowing down the Amen break. They slowed down "UFO" by ESG and the fast version isn't bad but the slowed down joint is where it's at!

[@Phyclone]

Not sure if you did one, can you do one on the Skull Snaps break. Impeach the Prez, Skull Snaps, and Monk Higgins One Man Band are some of my favs

[@chuckanthanio]

I had the original Impeach the President, but I ruined it. I replaced it with the UBB version, which extended the break beat. As a local DJ from the Bronx, it was our go-to song to showcase on time scratching and head bopping. I love your deep dive videos. Although we were there, we never really knew the history of the music, even if it came from our neighborhood. Great Job. 😎

[@MikeAllHipHop]

Heres another one! #givethedrummersome Thanks for the informative vids that breakdown the breaks/samples & music history! I appreciated learning about "Contrafacts", "real book" & jazz connection! Sharing w/ our music teachers. PEACE

[@HolloMatlala1]

3:27 Soooo MUCH AWESOME on 1x Screen💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾

[@sidwallace6053]

Just incase anybody wants to know but below is the Top 10 most used breakbeats/samples of all time- 10.”Ashley's Roachclip” The Soul Searchers 9.”The Big Beat” Billy Squier 8.”Hihache” Lafayette Afro Rock Band 7.”Papa Was Too” Joe Tex 6.”Apache” Incredible Bongo Band 5.”It's A New Day” Skull Snaps 4.”Amen,Brother” The Winstons 3.”Synthetic Substitution” Melvin Bliss 2.”Funky Drummer” James Brown 1.”Impeach the President” The Honey Drippers Forgot to say that when I got into hip-hop (electro) back in the mid 80s (yep I’m showing my age at nearly 60yrs old) one of the records I bought on import was Steady B’s “Bring The Beat Back” which contains a breakbeat/sample from the get go by Experience Unlimited (E.U.) “Knock Him Out Sugar Ray” which blew my mind away,so since then I’ve been collecting this type of music ever since and still to this day it’s my favourite breakbeat/sample along with “Heaven And Hell Is On Earth” by the 20th Century Steel Band

[@heysahan]

Apologies in advance if this is in the extended cut on Patreon (I’m gonna go subscribe as soon as I’m done with this), but maybe the craziest thing about this song has to do with its ownership. The man who I believe is the current rights holder to this song, who’s name I won’t mention, is allegedly the same man who gave Marley his first copy of this record, the same record that he ended up putting on his infamous drum reel and using on so many legendary tracks, including the Bridge. Marley used it a few more times over the next few years until eventually, the rights holder allegedly sued him for not clearing it on LL’s “Around the Way Girl”. Next level savagery. “Hey here’s a free record, just kidding”

[@Casey-cq9xp]

I was a kid, but I used to get a catalog from Upstairs Records, based in Brooklyn and saw these records all of the time

[@TheNationsRListening]

Back over here from Patreon! Thanks again B!

[@MikeA-v1o]

Quick shout out to FBA for creating the genre of hip hop 🫡

[@vptomt]

Great content, love this channel.

[@JDiggiti]

Fatback King Tim the 3rd is the first “Hip Hop “ record

[@williamjackson3075]

Stamp!

[@alexohkay]

This is one of my favourite samples

[@bpabustan]

I wonder if this is where Joey Kramer got his intro for Walk This Way?

[@heysahan]

wow this is a really cool observation. i know that joe perry from aerosmith has said that his guitar playing for that song was heavily influenced by cissy strut by the meters.

[@bpabustan]

@@heysahan I always thought Aerosmith had that hard rock meets funk sound.

[@user-vj6pr6lf5c]

That’s my favorite drum loop

[@mellodope8904]

Impeach The President vs Amen Brother vs Funky Drummer...and GO!

[@eliseoperez4523]

Hardest joint that used it was “Fakin’ Jax”

[@FTWKGaming]

The real book and ultimate breaks are like recipe books that actually give you some of the ingredients

[@WillHatton]

Class is in session, pen and papers at the ready 🫡 🎓

[@stewart2449]

…a reminder that DtG needs to look at Blue Scholars!

[@dsinned9992]

Oh wow one of my Patreon creators commenting on one of my patreon creators

[@AxeMan808]

Hahaha that intro reminded me of the Humpty Dance Awards off of Body Hat Syndrome.

[@OfficialChrissums]

this was such a cool piece of history man

[@AxeMan808]

Goats - Tricks Of The Shade, EPMD - Total Kaos

[@alxd5068]

never knew that’s (the ultimate breaks beats) what RZA was talking about in the beginning of his song “B.O.B.B.Y.”

[@drollins9973]

respect for giving break Beat Lou his proper credit

[@MusicFromAnotherTime]

I feel like a really cool related video would be the history of Taste Makers and how songs got passed around/promoted in the early days.

[@LoveLessgnato659]

4:53 ha he said it!

[@ooroshaza]

Skull Snaps' New Day is also a heavily sampled drum beat.

[@justinr5989]

Nate Patrin’s book Bring That Beat Back is a brilliant book focusing on Flash, Dr Dre, Prince Paul, and Madlib. It includes the full story of the history behind the UBB records. It’s a must-read, I promise!!

[@wallacewallets7557]

AUDIO TWO "TOP BILLIN" 🤦🏽 how are they not listed

[@CantTellYou]

Out of all possible references, I much appreciate the Space Jam/Basketball Jones pull 😂 ngl I’d like to see a whole video on how that one track came together lol

[@diggingthegreats]

The Space Jam Soundtrack is too good 🔥

[@MRblazedBEANS]

The amen break, gotta do a video on it.

[@raedewav]

So basically ultimate breaks was the original soundpack for producers lol

[@SatelliteSoundLab]

These drums have been chopped so often I actually have made the mistake of assuming the drums in a lot of songs WERE Impeach The President and then been surprised to find it's something else

[@Mar.Escobar24]

I get Synthetic Substitution by Melvin Bliss and It’s a New Day by The Skull Snaps mixed up a lot cuz they sound too similar in the way certain songs sample either one.

[@usthefolksmusic]

My favorite drumloop of all time

[@kevs8225]

My favorite drum break of all time ❤‍🔥🥁

[@marman1829]

Dont forget Janet Jackson's "Thats the Way Love Goes" samples this break 👍

[@hlahla9479]

Love this channel 💎

[@niterida380]

I’m still waiting for the other 796.

[@EV21]

It’s such a quintessentially hip-hop loop/break

[@thecatalyst84]

Had no idea they were high schoolers. Also didn't know they were from Jamaica, Queens. I bet they had no idea that years later a guy named 50 Cent, from their same neighborhood, would sample them for "My Hood".

[@thecatalyst84]

@@StatetrooperBillyBill Because they're from the same neighborhood. You pick another artist from Jamaica Queens that used Impeach The President then, hip hop professor ass nigga

[@Vertigo11]

Thank you!

[@b00ts4ndc4ts]

I still have records with electrical tape on the beginning of the part i want to play, this is how we didi it before sampling

[@mrmass71]

Another very dope video.

[@derneillwashington3091]

Audio Two Chopped the Sh*t outta Impeach The President for Their Hit "Top Billin" in 1988! No Mention? 😳😳😳

[@lewistaylor6226]

surprised the sample wasn't the amen break

[@CerealKiller]

I'm not, because the Amen Break is definitely been sampled far more than just 800 times.

[@-_Nuke_-]

I wonder if anyone could recreate that. Because the ways that people recorded sound back then isn't the same today, the stuff that they used are different so, I don't know if anyone today could ever recreate that loop with the same texture as the original.

[@cvltzilla]

aj hall

[@coor3186]

BBL certainly meant to say, the sample was pitched down to at around 33 eqivalent. Correct me, but especially this break was almost never chopped. As far my ears tell as soon as these drums come up. So marely anybody would waste memory sampling - back then.

[@christianokami2220]

As a jazzer, I love the comparison to the fake/real book.

[@kitsunegiblaze8022]

Cool, now do Skull Snaps - It's A New Day

[@CyberCreeper22]

hiphop: yeah lets slow down the amen break at 33bpm that's groovy break core producers snorting a boulevard of cocaine: LETS SPEED THAT SHIT UP TO 180BPM AT LEEAAAAST AND PUT IT IN A BLENDER BOOMBOOMBAPTIKATIKABOOMBAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@martinpanama23]

Those drums are dope

[@theonlycaamz]

common digging the greats w

[@TYBO-xl1xz]

I had no idea they were from Queens New York

[@twista101287]

Great time to release this video!!! 👌🤣🔥🤜🎛🎧

[@DocScOOp]

Can I enter a wish for covering a certain topic? What about the group "The Singers Unlimited"? I bet there is an interesting story. 😉

[@ezmforeal]

I had that 45. It belonged to my grandmother. Unfortunately, the 45 cracked and I had to throw it away

[@rhysqwerty8116]

I knew all of those songs had something in common

[@georgecookonbass]

The 1 5 6 4 of drum samples

[@MetalSonic420]

Iconic loop.

[@ingmarvanderhoek6314]

Sooooooo good!

[@ashtonsgotsauce]

the best drum break ever.

[@diggie9598]

Amen, Brother. It's a funky drummer.

[@most.notorious.b]

love your content can you pls put timestamps? it can make it way better'

[@danytalksmusic]

Somehow the title is still relevant today 😂

[@bboymac84]

We called them UBB loops

[@cflo530]

How dare you not name every song this was sampled in! jk 😆

[@HolloMatlala1]

5:40 👑👑👑👑

[@RichardBreivogel]

it was probably samped 800 times in 1989 alone

[@WaynePryce]

Hey what do you know, youtube has that album..

[@kuukeli]

great video