VA - Breaks Sessions [2CD Set] (2002)

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VA - Breaks Sessions [2CD Set] (2002)

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Here are the articled funky beats that hip-hop DJs can’t stop diggin’ in the crates for – including rare grooves aplenty. What’s more, there’s soul, jazz and a message or two to go with those killer breaks. As sampled by everyone in rap - including you?
So what is a break?

The word “break” is short for breakbeat. Meaning a short section of a record that can be looped on a sampler to create a longer, seamless piece of music from this one section.

Why is it called a break?

The term derives from the “breakdown”, a part of a funk or disco record where most or all of the other instruments drop away, leaving the drummer, or maybe the drummer and percussionist, or drummer and bassist, to play their parts unaccompanied. This provides an instant rhythm section to create a new tune from.

How did it start?

As a reaction to the sterility of major-label disco music in the mid-1970s. As a necessity for survival, many black bands turned to playing disco. Although disco had a big black audience, there remained a hardcore of funkers who felt it didn’t reflect their ghetto experience. So DJs like Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash in the South Bronx and Brooklyn began to create their own funky sound by looping up breakdowns on two decks. What was originally a novelty became popular at street level. Other DJs would talk over them, influenced by reggae toasters (many early rappers had a Caribbean heritage, even if they were born in America themselves) and rap was born.

What was the first break?

That’s a moot point. James Brown put together a couple of records credited to “Steve Soul” in the early 1970s, which were basically edits of many of his records with an announcer talking over them. But the beat was by no means seamless. In 1973 Lee Perry created the first true hip-hop record, albeit with a reggae rhythm, when he edited and looped three of his own rhythm tracks and provided a chat over the top courtesy of himself and another MC, Charlie Ace – it even had a stolen section of a funky soul record, The Staple Singers’ “This Old Town”, thrown in. But although its format and attitude was right, nobody called it a breaks record – it was just regarded as mad. Other than that, the breaks the early DJs used were many: “Lowell Fulson’s
“Tramp” and Rufus Thomas’ “The Breakdown” were among them, lurking funkily on this compilation.

Breaks have been around since the 1970s – are there more to be discovered?

Yes – any sound can be a break if it’s used with originality. There have been classical breaks, comedy breaks, African breaks, ragga breaks, raga breaks, breaks from bits of movies and TV shows. As long as it can be sampled and looped, it can be a break. It doesn’t even have to be music, as long as it has a beat. And there are tracks on this album that have barely been looped, but which deserve to be.

CD1:

1. THE 24-CARAT BLACK - GHETTO: MISFORTUNE'S WEALTH

From the Stax subsidiary label Enterprise, The 24-Carat Black’s “Ghetto: Misfortune’s Wealth” remains a vinyl groove holy grail for some collectors. The brainchild of one Dale O Warren, who wrote all the tunes and played piano and vibes, the album’s bleak, but communally soulful concept of ghetto life circa 1973. This stinging title track was used by Eric B & Rakim for “In The Ghetto”.

2. THE DRAMATICS - GET UP AND GET DOWN

From The Dramatics’ amazing “Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get” LP and yet another Stax stunner, dating from 1971. A much-prized break, sampled by NWA on “Approach To Danger”, Coolio for “In The Closet”, Del Tha Funkee Homosapien on “Hoodz Come In Dozens” and Redman and LL Cool J too.

3. THE METERS - SAME OLD THING

Indeed it is the Same Old Thing from The Meters – funk, funk and mo' funk. From their 1970
“Struttin’” album, the New Orleans groove guv’nors play it so easy, when everyone knows it ain’t. Among the many inspired by it are Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, to the extent of it fuelling title and beats to his “Same Ol’ Thing”, and Mantronix for “King Of The Beats”.

4. BOBBY WOMACK - HARLEM CLAVINETTE

Although about as funky a fella as you could get, his beats were not usually routine funk in their own right, so Bobby Womack remains an under-sampled 70s soul star. “Harlem Clavinette”, from his soundtrack to the 1972 Anthony Quinn crime flick Across 110th Street, has drawn the attention of Boss for “Deeper” and merits more. Womack is still recording, although his man meets woman lyrics are now moe often man meets maker.

5. O’DONEL LEVY - WE’VE ONLY JUST BEGUN

A slow, smooth, menacing groove… can this really be The Carpenters’ song? Yup, as soul-jazz guitar idol O’Donel Levy dishes up a radical reworking from his 1972 “Breeding Of Mind” album. It’s behind Pete Rock & CL Smooth’s hip-hop classic
“Mecca & The Soul Brother” and it’s a favourite on the funky jazz circuit, but deserves a bigger boost in rap.

6. THE OHIO PLAYERS - NEVER HAD A DREAM

Along with Fatback, The Ohio Players epitomised streetfunk in the 1970s with a string of killer albums. “Never Had A Dream” is a beautiful tune from their 1971 “Pain” LP, sampled by Ice Cube on “Down For Whatever”, and cunningly used on Gang Starr’s “Lovesick”.

7. ISAAC HAYES - JOY

A Soul II Soul beat before Jazzie B had spun a tune, Ike “Chef” Hayes’ epic groove from the 1973 album of the same name remains an all-time breakbeat classic. The Jungle Brothers borrowed it on “Behind The Bush”, Mase chats over it on
“Puff’s Intro”, and Massive Attack ate a bit for
“Lately”.

8. LOWELL FULSON - TRAMP

Bluesman Lowell Fulson was heading for his 70s when hip-hop started, although he was still working. He had a go at everything that resembled blues, and doubtless he’d have made a rap record had anyone asked. His tunes were covered by BB King, Elvis Presley, and Otis Redding & Carla Thomas, who had a huge pop hit with a version of “Tramp” in 1967, a few months after Fulson’s own version. Redding & Thomas’ makeover’s may be better known, but this is the classic breakbeat, sampled by House Of Pain (Pete Rock’s lick of
“Jump Around”), Wu-Tang Clan (“Protect Ya Neck”), Cypress Hill (“How I Could Just Kill A Man”) plus De La Soul, Redman and more.

9. LOWELL FULSOM - PICO

We’ve also included “Pico”, the flip of Fulson’s original 1967 Kent single, an instrumental cut of “Tramp”.

10. JOE TEX - PAPA WAS TOO

Joe Tex, real name Joe Arrington, is regarded by some as the original chatter – indeed, in 1972 he made an album called “From The Roots Came The Rapper”. “Papa Was Too” was one of his biggest US R&B; chart hits, and was an answer to Lowell Fulson’s “Tramp” to an extent. Although the live cut has been sampled by everyone from D’Angelo to Method Man, we’re offering the less-plundered studio take from 1967 – it’s every bit as funky.

11. S.O.U.L. - PEACE OF MIND

Although their original impact was minimal, SOUL are now rightly regarded as rare groove legends, with their “Burning Spear” cut an eternal favourite for funky feet. “Peace Of Mind”, from their second Musicor album “Can You Feel It” (1972) is another little killer. Its title inspired Main Source for “Peace Is Not The Word to Play”, and Heavy D’s “Letter to the Future” also uses a “peace” of it.

12. FUZZY HASKINS - THE FUZ AND DA BOOG

Fuzzy, probably not his real name (it was Clarence), was an original Funkadelic – not the best job in terms of future employment prospects, but someone had to do it. “The Fuz And Da Boog” comes from his 1976 solo album “A Whole Nuther Thing”. The drums helped power Future Sound Of London’s “Papua New Guinea”.

13. RUFUS THOMAS - THE BREAKDOWN PART 1

DJ, dancer, soul man and showman, Rufus Thomas was the heartbeat of the Memphis music scene for three decades. Apart from putting a name to the funky section of a tune that breakbeat DJs treasure, “The Breakdown”, has been absorbed into “De La Soul’s “Dedication To The Bitty”, LL Cool J’s “Illegal Search”, Ghostface Killah's
“The Grain” and the title track of Three X Dope's
“Acknickulous Land”.

14. RUFUS THOMAS - THE BREAKDOWN PART 2

From yet another classic Stax album, 1973’s “Did You Heard Me”, this is a soul king buggin’ out… as they used to say.

15. SKULL SNAPS - TRESSPASSIN’

The GSF label threw up some core beats albums and Skull Snaps’ eponymous debut set from 1973 was one. Their version of “It’s A New Day” has been sampled to death, so here’s something less obvious, with the horns that informed “If It Ain’t Rough, It Ain’t Right” for the great Pete Rock & CL Smooth. Organized Konfusion also used it for “Fudge Pudge”.

16. MICHAEL LONGO - LIKE A THIEF IN THE NIGHT

Another from Sonny Lester’s Groove Merchant
label, with a sneaky breakbeat worthy of the song title from drummer Mickey Roker. Longo, a keyboard player, was in Cannonball Adderley’s band when he was just 15 and spent much of the 1960s and 70s with Dizzy Gillespie. From the “900 Shares Of The Blues” album, 1974.


CD2:

1. LINDA CLIFFORD - NEVER GONNA STOP.

Linda Clifford was one of the best soul voices of the 1970s, although she suffered under the onslaught of disco. A protégé of Curtis Mayfield, Linda’s 1979 RSO album “Here’s My Love” brings us “Never Gonna Stop”, sampled by Tupac on “All Eyez On Me” and also admired by Nas on “Street Dreams”.

2. THE BLACKBYRDS - WILFORD'S GONE

Best known for cheery choons “Walking In Rhythm” and “Rock Creek Park”, Blackbyrds were the proteges of jazz trumpeter Donald Byrd. "Wilford's
Gone” is from their soundtrack for the movie
“Cornbread, Earl & Me”, and has been appreciated by Gang Starr on “Say Your Prayers” and Roots/Beatminers on a mix of “Silent Treatment”. The movie, incidentally, saw the debut of Laurence Fishburne, and its message about police brutality still speaks volumes today.

3. THE FATBACK BAND - PUT YOUR LOVE (IN MY TENDER CARE)

Recorded in 1975 for the "Raising Hell" album as the band came to the boil commercially without forgetting the funk, Fatback's "Put Your Love (In My Tender Care)" has been drilled, chopped into bits and used to fill tracks by The Pharcyde ("Soul Flower"), the Beasties ("High Plains Drifter") and Bjork ("One Day").

4. FIVE STAIRSTEPS - DON’T CHANGE YOUR LOVE

The Jackson 5? These guys (and girl) predated them all. The Burke family worked with some of the greatest names in late-60s soul music, including Curtis Mayfield and Stan Vincent, creating some unarguably classic soul sides, including the delicious “Ooh Child”, which featured on the soundtrack of Boyz In The Hood. By virtue of its opening drums, “Don’t Change Your Love”, from their 1968 “Love’s Happening” album, has been sampled dozens of times. Among those to taste it are Common (“Charms Alarm”), ATCQuest (“Jazz…”) and Naughty By Nature (“Hip Hop Hooray”). One of the Stairsteps, Keni, went on to cut the cult silky soul smash “Risin’ To The Top” in 1982.

5. YOUNG HOLT UNLIMITED - SOULFUL STRUT

You might know this effortlessly groovy track as Barbara Acklin’s “Am I The Same Girl”; here it is without the vocal. Eldee Young (bass) and Red Holt (drums) backed Ramsey Lewis before this 1969 Brunswick smash made them as big as their boss. Beastie Boys’ “Some Dumb Cop Gave Me Two Tickets Already” and 2 Live Crew’s “Coolin’” have looped it.

6. DON COVAY - WHAT’S IN THE HEADLINES

Super Dude Don Covay always resisted the obvious in a career that has covered some 40 years. Mick Jagger’s vocal style owes him some props and Covay appeared on the Stones’ “Dirty Work” in 1986. But don’t hold that against him. His wicked 1970 “Different Strokes For Different Folks” album for Janus brings us “What’s In The Headlines”, a tune that has drawn just a few samples, Akinyele’s “I Luh Huh” among them.

7. BOHANNAN - SAVE THEIR SOULS

In the early 1970s Hamilton Bohannon was about as rootsy as the UK pop charts got. The drummer cut a slew of great, if repetitive, tunes for Brunswick’s Dakar imprint that were disco smashes before the word became dirty. “Save Their Souls”, from his 1972 “Stop And Go” album, has been borrowed from the record library by Chubb Rock (“Stop That Train”), Ultramagnetics (“Intro”) and The Jungle Brothers (“All I Think About Is You”) – and plenty more besides.

8. VAUGHAN MASON & CREW - BOUNCE, ROCK, SKATE, ROLL

From the 1981 Brunswick album of the same title, this is one of the most-bitten tunes of the 1980s, having been mined by De La Soul (“Cool Breeze On The Rocks”), Heavy D (“Black Coffee”) and Digital Underground (“Doowutchalike”) Mason’s CV also includes engineering for BT Express and membership of house originals Raze.

9. THE LAST POETS - TRIBUTE TO OBABI

And now a technical musos’ question: can a beat be a break if it’s in waltz time? Were The Last Poets the first rap group or something jazzier? “Tribute To Obabi (Ogun)” drawn from their 1973 Blue Thumb album, “Chastisement”, suggests jazz, as few rap groups would test their talents on this sort of rhythm. Among those that have is A Tribe Called Quest on “Excursions”, and the deeply Last Poets-influenced X-Clan for
“Shaft’s Big Score”. Strangely, this tune is one of the few Poets’ tracks not to feature a rap.

10. BOB JAMES - NAUTILUS

One of the all-time classic breaks, “Nautilus” has been sampled by everyone from Onyx (“Black Vagina Finda”) to Mary J Blige (“Sincerity”). From keyboard maestro James’ first CTI album,
“One” (although it wasn’t his first album – that was an avant-garde jazz set in the mid-60s), there’s still some mileage in it today.

11. REUBEN WILSON - INNER CITY BLUES

Organist Reuben Wilson cut a few reasonable albums for Blue Note as the 60s flared into the 70s, and some fierce tunes for Cadet and Groove Merchant thereafter. The latter catalogue provides us with his lick of the more-covers-than-a-used-record-store Marvin Gaye song “Inner City Blues”. From Reuben’s 1973 “Sweet Life” album, and used by A Tribe Called Quest on the articled rap classic “Youthful Expression”.

12. JOE THOMAS - POLARIZER

Groove Merchant fusion from “Ebony Godfather” Joe Thomas, whose flute parts were second only to those of Hubert Laws in the jazz-funk canon.
“Polarizer”, from his 1976 “Feelin’s From Within”, is another largely underground sample, turning up on DITC’s “Way Of Life”. The album’s worth digging for too.

13. RAMON MORRIS - PEACE OF MIND

Ramon Morris played sax and flute on Art Blakey’s under-appreciated 1972 set “Child’s Dance”, and Woody Shaw’s brilliant “Song Of Songs” that same year. But he was also capable of a funkier groove, as the much –bootlegged break “Don’t Ask Me”, from 1974, makes clear. Among its fans is Big Punisher, who snipped off a lump for “You Came Up”.

14. THE 24-CARAT BLACK - SYNOPSIS ONE: IN THE GHETTO

Finally, hardly a break at all, but or second tune from The 24-Carat Black is a reminder of where this music comes from and where it is most appreciated. And surely the influence of the ghetto will always remain strong wherever a true break is heard.