Strictly Butter | 01

Golden era hip hop to fuel the revival of rap with soul and depth.

Revive Rap (Jim Sharp Remix feat. El Da Sensei) - Sam Krats

I Like It (I Wanna Be Where You Are - LP Version)  -  Grand Puba

Lyrics to Go - Soul Supreme

Melatonin  -  A Tribe Called Quest

Drop -  The Pharcyde

Who Got Da Props -  Black Moon

Daylight  -  Blockhead

Complexity (ft. Jill Scott)  -  The Roots

Burn  -  Black Milk & Nat Turner

Dilla Plugged In  -  De La Soul

Devil's Pie  -  D'Angelo

Beeds On A String  -  Jungle Brothers

9th Wonder (Instrumental)  -  Digable Planets

History  -  Yasiin Bey Mos Def ft Talib Kweli

Fortunate  -  Pete Rock Common

"Revive Rap (Jim Sharp Remix)" [feat. El Da Sensei]

Jim Sharp, the UK-based DJ/editor renowned for hip-hop reworks, reimagined UK producer Sam Krats's original cut with a stripped-down break, lush strings, and a Native Tongues feel. Released July 2018 as the third entry in Dusty Donuts' limited 7" series, with UK MC Gee Bag joining El Da Sensei on the remix to make it a transatlantic affair. Flea Market Funk said El "slays this beat and you might think it's '92 rather than '18"; Nostalgia King clocked Sharp's remix as "Native Tongues-esque." A deep cut with early '90s boom-bap authenticity (Artifacts, El Da Sensei) with a directive against the prevailing muddled rap styles of today.

"I Like It (I Wanna Be Where You Are - LP Version)" – Grand Puba

A feel-good classic cut with the beautiful DeBarge vocal sample that showcases Grand Puba's effortless flow. A highlight of 90s jazz-rap and a crossover moment for Puba post-Brand Nubian, the track was released on his sophomore solo album 2000 (1995, Elektra Records). Mark Sparks's lush production gives it crossover appeal on soul-friendly floors. The track threads together samples from DeBarge's 1982 hit, Michael Jackson's "I Wanna Be Where You Are," Cal Tjader's "Never My Love," and The Stylistics' "You Are Everything," with a Crash Crew rap snippet sealing the chorus.

"Lyrics to Go" – Soul Supreme

Soul Supreme's instrumental reinterpretation with Rhodes, synths, and live drums. Released April 17, 2020 on a 7" via Soul Supreme Records as the B-side to "Check The Rhime." The Jerusalem-born, Amsterdam-based producer (a student of Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner, and Weldon Irvine) had earlier put out a Mos Def / Grandmaster Flash 7" on Chicago's Star Creature, and this Tribe tribute is another killer release. He used a Moog Sub37, DSI OB-6, Rhodes MK1, and Yamaha piano to render the Midnight Marauders classic. First-run black vinyl sold out quickly; Soul Supreme told The Wicked Sound he wanted to take the listener on a trip to "…a track they know, but from a different perspective" via jazz reharmonizations and improvisation.

"Melatonin" – A Tribe Called Quest

Moody and reflective track from We Got It from Here… Thank You 4 Your Service (released November 11, 2016, Epic Records), the final Tribe album and the one finished after Phife Dawg's passing in March 2016. Written by Q-Tip with Marsha Ambrosius, BIGYUKI, and Louis Cato; produced by Q-Tip with Blair Wells co-producing at Q-Tip's AbLab studio in New Jersey. Q-Tip handled vocals, drums, and drum programming; Casey Benjamin played Fender Rhodes, BIGYUKI played synthesizer, Chris Sholar guitar, with Ambrosius and Yebba sharing vocals. Melatonin contains no samples, only original compositions, a rarity for a Tribe production and a deliberate one given the album's mournful weight.

"Drop" – The Pharcyde

Produced by J Dilla, released August 10, 1995 as a single from Labcabincalifornia (Delicious Vinyl). A surrealist boom-bap banger built around a reversed sample of Detroit harpist Dorothy Ashby's "Django" and the Beastie Boys' "The New Style" vocal hook, with a Wes Montgomery "'Round Midnight" loop threaded underneath. The video became one of the most iconic of the 90s, directed by Spike Jonze three years before Being John Malkovich. The group lip-synced the lyrics phonetically backwards (USC linguist Robert Belvin coached them through the gibberish) and the footage was reversed in post, with no special effects or post-production tricks beyond the reversal itself.

"Who Got Da Props" – Black Moon

A boom-bap classic from Brooklyn's Buckshot, 5ft, and DJ Evil Dee. The track's jazzy horn loop and rugged drums became a street anthem in the early '90s with its eerie keys and punchy snares. The horn loop was lifted from Ronnie Laws's "Tidal Wave" (Pressure Sensitive, Blue Note 1975), with the break from Skull Snaps' "It's a New Day" providing the foundation. Produced by DJ Evil Dee with Mr. Walt, this was the launch of Da Beatminerz, whose production credits would soon include Smif-N-Wessun, Heltah Skeltah, KRS-One, and Black Star. Black Moon were teenagers when they recorded this, the lead single from Enta da Stage (Nervous Records, October 1993), the debut that preceded Illmatic, Ready to Die, and Liquid Swords and presaged Brooklyn's mid-'90s rap renaissance.

"Daylight" – Blockhead

An instrumental classic from one of hip-hop's most cinematic beatmakers, blending psychedelic samples, lo-fi drum breaks, and surreal vocal snippets. Originally produced for Aesop Rock's Labor Days (Definitive Jux, 2001), the instrumental landed on the Aesop Rock Instrumentals bonus disc included with limited editions of Blockhead's solo debut Music By Cavelight (Ninja Tune, 2004), layering chopped guitar and ambient textures with dusty drums. Blockhead (Tony Simon) and Aesop Rock met at Boston University in 1994; the producer chose beats over MCing after hearing Aesop freestyle. Cavelight nearly didn't reach Ninja Tune; the demo found its way over after Mush Records stopped returning Blockhead's calls and was passed along by Warp Records, the label that didn't sign him. Reissued by Ninja Tune for its 20th anniversary in 2024 on burnt orange marbled vinyl.

"Complexity (ft. Jill Scott)" – The Roots

Smooth neo-soul blended with hip-hop groove and live instrumentation. Jill Scott's poetic vocals dance around Questlove's pocket drumming. From Phrenology (November 26, 2002, MCA Records), what Questlove called The Roots' "anti-Roots Roots album" and the band's left turn after the platinum Things Fall Apart. Produced by The Roots and recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York between June 2000 and September 2002. Jill Scott was an original collaborator with the group before releasing her solo work, having co-penned "You Got Me" on Things Fall Apart (Erykah Badu's vocals were used on the released version, a label decision that Black Thought has called out in interviews since). The album emerged from the Soulquarians collective that also included D'Angelo, Common, Erykah Badu, Mos Def, J Dilla, and Bilal, all running through Electric Lady at the same time.

"Burn" – Black Milk & Nat Turner

A heavy live-band hip-hop cut filled with analog funk textures and political urgency. Released on The Rebellion Sessions (April 4, 2016, Computer Ugly). Produced by Black Milk in collaboration with his live band Nat Turner: keyboardist Aaron "Ab" Abernathy, bassist Malik Hunter, and drummer Zebulun "Z" Horton. The album was recorded in one week at Stank Babies Studio in Dallas after the trio honed the material across 90+ shows in 2015; Black Milk has said most tracks feature only three instruments: drums, bass, and Rhodes. Nat Turner, the band, was named to honor the Black revolutionary spirit. The track is a reflection of Detroit's post-Dilla jazz-funk vanguard, blending live instrumentation with beat-making precision.

"Dilla Plugged In" – De La Soul

A tribute cut full of J Dilla's signature swung drums and lo-fi soul chops, laced with nostalgic lyricism from De La Soul. Appears on Smell the Da.I.S.Y. (March 2014), a De La Soul mixtape that paired classic De La vocals with previously unreleased J Dilla beats. The acronym was reworked from "da inner sound, y'all" on De La's 1989 debut 3 Feet High and Rising to "Da Inner Soul of Yancey." The entire project was offered as a free download via BitTorrent Bundle and included the Still Shining documentary on Dilla, honoring both De La's abstract lyricism and Dilla's posthumous beat canon. Earlier that year on Valentine's Day, De La had given away their entire back catalog free for 24 hours, a workaround for the sample clearance issues that kept the group off streaming services until 2023.

"Devil's Pie" – D'Angelo

Neo-soul stripped to a bare beat and bassline with D'Angelo singing against industry and ego excess. Produced by D'Angelo and DJ Premier, originally released October 1998 on the soundtrack to Hype Williams's Belly (Def Jam) and later on Voodoo (2000, Virgin Records). Per Premier's own Off the Record recounting for Mass Appeal, he originally made the beat for Canibus, who rejected it; D'Angelo happened to call Premier the same night and started "running around the room" when he heard it. The session featured a young Alchemist, Questlove, and J Dilla, all crammed into Electric Lady during the Voodoo sessions. The beat samples Teddy Pendergrass's "And if I Had" (Philadelphia International, 1977), alongside loops from Wu-Gambinos and Big Daddy Anthem. Premier later won a Grammy for the track. A blunt set-stopper in late-'90s sets; embraced by both soul heads and boom-bap DJs.

"Beeds On A String" – Jungle Brothers

Released on the Jungle Brothers' second album Done By The Forces Of Nature (1989, Warner Bros.), the track is tribal jazz-rap with hypnotic bass, tribal drums, and bongo-led breaks. Produced by the group alongside Kool DJ Red Alert, the 98.7 Kiss FM star whose Red Alert Productions managed multiple Native Tongues acts; he was also Mike G's uncle. One of the earliest examples of Afrocentric themes in hip hop production and an early part of the jazz-rap movement, inspiring the formation of the Native Tongues (Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Queen Latifah, Monie Love, Black Sheep, Chi-Ali). Contains samples from Black Sabbath, The Undisputed Truth, and Sly Stone, along with live percussion loops and layered vocals. The forgotten progenitors of a movement that shaped everything that came after, from Tribe to The Roots to Common.

"9th Wonder (Instrumental)" – Digable Planets

Interstellar instrumental channeling Black bohemia through Rhodes keys, upright bass, and delayed snares. Taken from their sophomore LP Blowout Comb (October 18, 1994, Pendulum/EMI). Self-produced by Digable Planets with co-production by Dave Darlington, recorded at Bass Hit Studios and mixed at Chung King House Of Metal in NYC. The track's title plays on Five Percent Nation cosmology of the original Black Man as the ninth wonder of the world; "Blackitolism" is the group's portmanteau of Black plus capitalism. The bassline is a replayed nod to the Ohio Players' "Love Rollercoaster," with samples from Roy Ayers Ubiquity's "He's a Superstar" and the J.B.'s "Blow Your Head." A deliberate refusal of the Reachin' insect imagery: by Blowout Comb, Butterfly had become Ish, Ladybug had become Mecca, and the group had moved to Fort Greene, Brooklyn to live the album they were making.

"History" – Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) ft. Talib Kweli

Produced by J Dilla and released on (June 9, 2009, Downtown Records), this track is both spiritual and defiant, fusing conscious rap with a classic soul groove. Features Talib Kweli for an unofficial Black Star reunion. The beat samples Mary Wells's "Two Lovers History" (1965), with threaded references to Talib's "Beautiful Struggle" and the Notorious B.I.G.'s "Juicy." Mos titled the album after Victor LaValle's 2002 novel of the same name, and the record's Pan-Islamic, internationalist register marked his return to focused MCing after a Hollywood detour through Be Kind Rewind and Cadillac Records. Most of The Ecstatic was produced by Madlib, Oh No, and Preservation, with J Dilla's only contribution being this track, recorded before his death in 2006.

"Fortunate" – Pete Rock & Common

Produced by Pete Rock and released on The Auditorium Vol. 1 (July 12, 2024, Loma Vista Recordings), the first joint album from two figures whose orbits had crossed for thirty-plus years without ever quite locking in. Features warm horns, gritty drums, and smooth bars about fate and gratitude. The track is built around a vocal sample of Ivan Lins's "Guarde Nos Olhos" from his 1978 EMI LP Nos Dias De Hoje, a Brazilian source Rock has been mining since the Mecca and the Soul Brother days. Pete Rock stopped by the Okayplayer offices before the album's release and described the pairing as "explosive." The Auditorium Tour that followed brought out Camp Lo's Geechi Suede and De La Soul's Posdnuos at various stops. This contemporary Pete Rock/Common collaboration blends introspective lyricism with classic Soul Brother sonics, a showcase of experience and skill in rap.

Listen to: Strictly Butter | 02

Dig deeper: Sample Spotlight on Fortunate's Brazilian vocal