Anatomy of a Sample Part 2- Shake Your Rump

Beastie Boys: Shake Your Rump

From: Paul's Boutique [Capitol Records, 1989]

Alphonse Mouzon: Funky Snakefoot

From: Funky Snakefoot [Blue Note, 1974]

Harvey Scales: Dancing Room Only

From: Hotfoot: A Funque Dizco Opera [Casablanca, 1979]

Ronnie Laws: Tell Me Something Good

From: Pressure Sensitive [Blue Note 1975]

Paul Humphrey: Super Mellow

From: The Drum Session [Inner City, 1979]

Alan Moorhouse: Soul Skimmer

From: The Big Beat Vol.2 [KPM, 1970]

Rose Royce: 6 O'Clock DJ, Born to Love You and Yo Yo

From: Car Wash soundtrack [RCA, 1976]

Funky 4+1: That's the Joint

From: That's the Joint- 12 " single [Sugar Hill, 1980]

James Brown featuring Afrika Bambaataa- Unity Part 6

From: Unity-single [Tommy Boy, 1984]

Afrika Bambaataa and the Jazzy Five- Jazzy Sensation

From: Jazzy Sensation- 12 "single [Tommy Boy, 1981]

The Sugarhill Gang- 8th Wonder

From: 8th Wonder [Sugar Hill, 1981]

I posted the first installment of the Anatomy of a Sample series in August, so you can read about that here. Today I am exploring the samples that the Dust Brother's used on Beastie Boys "Shake Your Rump" from Pauls Boutique. When Paul's Boutique was first released it was slept on by most of the hip-hop heads because it was nothing like Licensed to Ill. The Dust Brothers were true visionaries in the sampling game circa 1989, but they were undoubtedly influenced by the chaotic sample-heavy production of the Bomb Squad on Public Enemy's landmark recording It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. I'm not 100% sure about this, but it's rumored that Paul's Boutique contains more samples than any other hip-hop record in history. "Shake Your Rump" contains thirteen samples alone, so I can only imagine that the entire record is tipping the scales at over one-hundred samples.

The Dust Brothers artfully juxtaposed rare jazz drum breaks with old-school hip-hop and funky soul to craft the sample masterpiece "Shake Your Rump". I will now take you on a journey through the various samples from "Shake Your Rump". Fasten your seatbelts cause it's going to be a bumpy ride!

During the opening seconds of "Shake Your Rump" the listener is assaulted with a spastic drum break taken from the first couple seconds of Alphonse Mouzon's fantastic funk-inflected jazz tune called "Funky Snakefoot". This immediately segues into another drum break taken from the five second mark of Harvey Scales disco classic "Dancing Room Only". However, It seems that they removed the instruments in the foreground and slowed down the beat for the sample. After this, a chicken-scratch guitar taken from the opening seconds of Ronnie Laws cover of" Tell Me Something Good" is sped up to match the upbeat tempo of the track. Then, at about the twenty-six second mark, the conga drum beat from the opening seconds of Paul Humphrey's jazzy "Super Mellow" is used to spice up the track. Next, the first couple seconds of Alan Moorhouse's rippin' drum beat from "Soul Skimmer" is sampled at the 37 second mark of the track. Finally, the Funky 4 Plus 1's "That's the Joint" is sampled at the 39 second point of the track and it segues right into mutated scratching over a deep bassline that is taken from Rose Royce's instrumental track "6 O'Clock DJ".

This goes on for about 15 seconds and then the bassline from the beginning of Rose Royce's funk-tastic "Yo-Yo" slightly slows down the tempo before the "Funky Snakefoot" chicken scratch guitar makes another appearance. Then, the drum breaks from the beginning of the track are reincorporated into the mix and at the 1:33 mark, a vocal sample is taken from the 1:40 mark of James Brown and Afrika Bambaataa' Unity Part 6 (This is the part where Bambaata says "Shake Your Rump-Ah"). Next, at the 2:07 mark the Dust Brothers fuse the opening bars of Rose Royce's "Born to Love You" with background ambience and electronic handclaps taken from the 5:04 point of Afrika Bambaataa's "Jazzy Sensation". After this, a short vocal sample is taken from the 1:53 point of Sugarhill Gang's "8th Wonder" where they proclain "Hoo Hah Got Them All in Check". Finally, the Dust Brothers close out the track deftly by reintroducing Afrika Bambaataa's "Jazzy Sensation" sample and integrating it with the drum beats from Paul Humphrey's "Super Mellow". There are probably a couple samples that I have missed, so let me know if you spot them. This concludes the anatomy of a sample for Beastie Boys "Shake Your Rump". I hope you have enjoyed the ride.