Anatomy of a Sample VII- Ain’t No Half Steppin

Big Daddy Kane: Ain’t No Half Steppin
From: Long Live the Kane [Warner Bros, 1988]

Heatwave: Ain’t No Half Steppin
From: Too Hot to Handle [GTO, 1976]

Diana Ross and Michael Jackson: Ease on Down the Road
From: The Wiz soundtrack [Motown, 1978]

Billy Squier: Big Beat
From: The Tale of the Tape [Capital, 1980]

ESG: UFO
From: S/T [Nine Nine, 1981]

The Emotions: Blind Alley
From: Untouched [Stax, 1971]

Hamilton Bohannon: Singing a Song for My Mother
From: Stop and Go [Dakar, 1973]

I figured that it was about time that I stepped up to the plate after an extended hiatus from posting.  Thanks to Chuck for keeping the fuzz rolling since Junior has decided to take a break from bloggin. Let’s hope that Junior doesn’t leave us for long, as his insightful assessments of rare funk, soul, jazz and hip-hop have been sorely missed during the past month. This one has been in the works ever since G Bogs commented on here that they would like to see Big Daddy Kane’s “Ain’t No Half Steppin featured on a future Anatomy of a Sample post. Well, this goes to show the readers that their comments are taken seriously on Ear Fuzz. I encourage more of you to chime in and let me know what song you would like to see featured next on Anatomy of a Sample. I will do my best to satisfy any requests that you might have, so definitely keep them coming.

With that being said, I am happy to present the latest episode of Anatomy of  a Sample  for your listening pleasure. Today’s episode focuses on the samples used in the classic old-school joint by Big Daddy Kane called “Ain’t No Half Steppin”. For those of you were not exposed to this track when it was originally released in 1988, you are in for a pleasant surprise. As for the rest of you, just sit back and ride the wave of nostalgia that takes you back to the day when you first heard this song bumpin’ on every car stereo in your high school parking lot.

While most of the songs sampled  in “Ain’t No Half Steppin’ don’t necessarily stand on their own as stellar tracks, they are an excellent example of a producer employing the best parts of a song to create something new and vital. From the opening bars of the track, the listener is immediately presented with three samples, setting the stage for a hip-hop masterpiece. 

The main backbeat and groove of the track are taken from the first few seconds of The Emotions’ groovy soul number entitled “Blind Alley”.  Clearly, they added an ample amount of bass to the track,  more than likely to satisfy the appetites of the bass-heads cruising around the strip in their brand new rides.  While this sample carries the main groove, it is hardly the only thing worth sinking your teeth into here.  One such example is the almost “Psycho” like sound effects taken from the 22 second mark of ESG’s “UFO” which sounds like it was phased in and out using studio trickery. Last, at the 34 second mark of “Ain’t No Half Steppin, a smooth horn line from the 18 second mark of Hamilton Bohannon’s “Singing a Song For My Mother” is introduced , but it seems to have been altered to sound a bit faster with more echo.  Now we have the main groove from “Blind Alley” peppered with horn blasts from “Singing a Song For My Mother” with a little bit of  spooky synth from “UFO” adding to the overall complexity of the song.

Next, during the chorus of the track,  the 1:39 mark of Heat Wave’s “Ain’t No Half Steppin” is sampled to great effect, providing a melodic counterpoint to Kane’s gruff rhyming style.  After this, Kane samples his own material in the chorus with a refrain of “I’m the Big Daddy Kane”, as well as a random part of “Ease On Down the Road by Michael Jackson and Diana Ross. This one had me absolutely baffled, as it was part of the scratching at the very end of the chorus, and is practically impossible to decipher. If any of you have any thoughts about what part of ”Ease on Down the Road” was sampled, I would greatly appreciate your feedback.

After two more incredibly creative verses from Kane, the vocals from the 27 second mark of Billy Squier’s “Big Beat” are expertly scratched in by Mista Cee for about 17 seconds . To close out the track, Kane spits one more verse that fades out with the horn sample from Hamilton Bohannon’s “Singing a Song For My Mother”, sounding like it has been bathed in echo.

I hope you have enjoyed this episode of Anatomy of a Sample, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on my analysis of the samples used on Big Daddy Kane’s “Ain’t No Half Steppin.