(Note: It’s a very exciting day for YHT — my friend and lifetime guru in the ways of hip hop J. Clyde has written the first in a recurring series of guest posts entitled “Original vs. Sample,” where he looks at the origin of samples found in his favorite tunes. Graphic and title subject to change.)
By J. CLYDE
I’ve been thinking about a few things for the guest spot and one of them is my friend/mentor/hero/fellow Norfolk native Nottz. You might not know much about him, but trust me, you’ve heard his music countless times…”Barry Bonds” by Kanye West, anyone? I’ll let the Wikipedia/google/youtube search leave you in awe instead of running down his iconic discography for you here.
Anyway, I just found this sample he used the other day for one of my current favorite jams (“Break Bread” by Nottz & Asher Roth). The word “genius” is thrown around far too loosely these days, but Nottz is a musical genius. Trust me, I have spent many nights watching him work in his studio and he blows me away every single time. He is the only person I have ever known that I truly believe is doing EXACTLY what God put him on Earth to do. I think this example will show you that.
The original is a song called “Sprout and the Bean” by Joanna Newsom. Don’t ask me how it has almost 2,000,000 youtube views. Anyway, this song is so fucking eerie…It’s the type of song you would hear in the opening credits of a Wes Anderson film. The entire song/video is incredibly dope (do yourself a favor and listen to and/or watch the whole thing BEFORE listening to the Nottz jam). The crutial part of the sample is between 1:20-2:20.
Then play the Nottz track…cue goosebumps. As someone that’s never sampled before, I’m not entirely sure that you can appreciate the absolute insanity it takes to 1) HEAR the original record that way and 2) to possess the creative dexterity to actually execute the idea to this magnitude. I’m pretty good, but Nottz is “all-time” good.
You Hear That 
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