Sampling: Hip-Hop 101

Mobb Deep – Shook Ones Part II

Uploaded by EnigmaticxFusion

Mobb Deep’s ‘Shook Ones Part II’ record is from their The Infamous album, which was produced in 1995. Havoc from Mobb Deep produced the record, and also is the main producer on the album. Havoc sampled Herbie Hancock’s ‘Jessica.’ Havoc tells Complex.com the process of making ‘Shook Ones Part II’ record:

I made that beat inside my mother’s house in Queensbridge. That house gave me a lot of inspiration because something could happen outside and I could go upstairs and make a beat. Like, I would have this feeling like, ‘Let me go upstairs and make a beat of how I’m feeling right now.’ So I just popped the sample up and I almost even erased it because I didn’t even really like it too much. [Laughs.] At that time I was always in the house alone by myself making beats and sometimes if i didn’t have somebody to co-sign it I’d be like, ‘**** it, whatever.’ But then my friends were like, ‘Nah, this s*** is ******* crazy.’ So I kept it. Thank God because we probably wouldn’t be here right now if I had erased that.

The sample appears at the 0:23 mark of the record and throughout.

Herbie Hancock – Jessica

Uploaded by MusicForYourFunk

Herbie Hancock created ‘Jessica’ in 1969 for his Fat Albert Rotunda album. The sample is taken at the 0:03 mark of the record.

Mobb Deep – Shook Ones Part II sample Herbie Hancock

Uploaded by latadezinc

I found a cool video showing the Hancock’s ‘Jessica’ sample slowly building into the ‘Shook Ones Part II’ record. There has been a mystery behind the sample Havoc used for ‘Shook Ones Part II’ for the last 16 years. The LA Times recently figured out the sample last year. Havoc tells Complex.com the mystery behind the sample:

[The LA Times only recently figured out the sample] because I used such a small part of a record. And I chopped it up and shifted the tempo a lot, so I put them on the keyboard. I made it faster, then made it slower. People were like, ‘What the **** is that? What record does that come from?’ because so many producers, they blatantly use a sample. I can’t say there’s no creativity to it, but it’s nothing to figure out.

Given that ‘Shooks Ones Pt. II” is a classic record, it just brought the curiosity out like,’What ******* sample is that?’ [Laughs.] And I’m not telling anybody what sample it was because I forgot what samples I used. [Laughs.] But that is definitely the sample because I remembered when they brought it out. [Laughs.] But that’s a secret between you and me. It’s good and it’s bad because I was reveling in the mystery of the sample, but if people wanted to know so bad then that just shows how much love people have for the track.