Music Producers Break Down Samples Used For Big Beyoncé Hits

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So you think you’re a member of the BeyHive? But do you know the samples and songs BEHIND Beyoncé’s biggest hits? No worries, we’ve got you covered. It’s September 4th – Queen Bey’s birthday and this year we thought we’d do something special that would be both entertaining and educational. A good friend to the site, AskKobie ™ AKA Kobie Brown is the Senior Director, BA / Music Licensing at Sony Music and has extensive knowledge about the history of your favorite songwriters, samples and songs. If you don’t know already, a sample is the reuse of a portion of a sound recording (the actual record, CD, wav file or link) or a composition (replaying or re-singing) of a pre-existing record or song. Sometimes, the same sample can launch, revitalize or further advance several artists or producers careers over any number of years — a great example of this is Mtume’s “Juicy Fruit” which was released in 1983 and has since been used to launch Notorious B.I.G. to the masses in 1994 and create hits for Keyshia Cole “Let It Go feat. Missy Elliot and Lil’ Kim” and Tamar Braxton among others. We turned to AskKobie ™ for a look at a few of the samples that have provided part of the musical foundation for Beyonce over the past two decades.

The first time most of the world heard Beyoncé was alongside Destiny’s Child for “No, No, No (PT 2)”… Check out the sample that laid the foundation.

DESTINY’S CHILD “NO, NO, NO (PT2)” SAMPLING “STRANGE GAMES &THINGS” BY LOVE UNLIMITED ORCHESTRA

Here’s what Wyclef told AskKobie ™ about his use of the Love Unlimited Orchestra sample:

“As a producer my favorite thing was to study those who came before me and when it comes to the sexy grooves, Barry White had everybody beat. Then, my background, with not only the church choir, but as a music director at a young age, and someone who just loves music; Destiny’s Child just reminded me of the young Supremes at the time. That’s sexy like Barry, so I knew they could go from a dream to becoming the young Supremes.”

– Wyclef Jean Producer and featured artist on “No, No, No (Part 2)”

For those who don’t already know, in addition to his own solo career, Barry White was also responsible for the discovery of Tom Brock, whose only album yielded, “There’s Nothing In This World That Can Stop Me From Loving You”, which later provided the foundation for Jay-Z’s “Girls, Girls, Girls” ; as well as Love Unlimited, a female trio whose song “He’s All I Got” later became the bed of “My Boo” by Usher feat. Alicia Keys (originally Nelly). When tasked with creating a remix for “No, No, No”, Destiny’s Child debut single, artist and producer Wyclef Jean and his production crew, which included Che Pope, called upon a sample of the Love Unlimited Orchestra, a 40-piece orchestra created by Barry White in the 70s, to provide the foundation of a track that helped further cement Destiny’s Child as a household name.

Now that’s an incredible lesson in music history riiight?!

Hit the flip for more background on Bey’s greatest samples.