My love for rap music gave me an appreciation for many other types of music. When I would hear a song like Nate Dogg & Warren G’s “Regulate”, I would memorize all of the verses but then I would have a curiosity about what sample Warren looped to produce his classic. From there I’d find the soft rock song “I Keep Forgetting” from Michael McDonald that Warren sampled and then go into the rabbit hole of Michael McDonald only to find out that he used to be in the The Doobie Brothers. Then I’d listen to a ton of music from The Doobie Brothers and learn all about their band. I’ve always gone deep into rabbit holes on my musical journeys and rap has always been the reason why.

I wanted to create a playlist that contained the original samples of all of the hip hop and rap songs that I love. This is a playlist that will always keep building because I am always digging in the digital crates for the originals. These samples turned me on to many Soul, Funk, R&B, Jazz, Soft Rock, and Classic Rock songs from the ‘60’s, 70’s, and 80’s. These samples showed me that my favorite producers listen to as much music as I do. And most likely wayyyyyyyy more! This playlist is an ode to my favorite hip hop producers… Dr. Dre, DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Q-Tip, J-Dilla, MF Doom, DJ Quik, Kanye, The RZA, Daz Dillinger, Large Professor, Diamond D, The Alchemist, and so many more. This mix also pays homage to the artists they’ve sampled… Parliament, David Axelrod, James Brown, Willie Hutch, The Isley Brothers, Patrice Rushen, Roy Ayers, etc. The list could go on and on! Take a listen through on the playlist! You’ll be nodding your head in no time!