SAMPLED is a recurring column that examines the skeletal production of a contemporary Rap/R&B/Hip-Hop or Pop song. From what song did the loop, sample, or chopped up vocal providing the backbone for a new interpretation originate? SAMPLED looks at the original song with some historical context, and then presents the contemporary production that utilizes a sample from the original. For better or worse, this is the process by which a huge portion of contemporary pop music is assembled.

This week, the sample in question is from Jamaican reggae singer and MC Ini Kamoze’s #1 song “Here Comes The Hotstepper,” the 1994 crossover-hit that actually utilized several samples itself. Pay close attention to the looped sample “Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!” which is actually initially borrowed from the Mohawks song “The Champ.”

Ini Kamoze is a Jamaican recording artist who has been releasing records for over 30 years, however none are more notable than “Here Comes The Hotstepper.” Prior to this major breakthrough, Kamoze’s intermittent early career yielded little success, and he effectively disappeared from the music industry in 1991 due to rumoured incarceration. Regardless, Ini re-appaered in a big way just 3 years later, with the release of “Hotstepper.” According to Salaam Remi, producer of the song, during recording Ini “was outside in the rain, trying to get people to come sing the background [vocals] on the song — anybody he could find, homeless, junkie, whoever. Some crazy shit.” All that hustle certainly paid off, because “Here Comes The Hotstepper” was a career milestone for Ini Kamoze, hitting #1 on the charts in the United States, Canada, Denmark, and New Zealand.

“Here Comes The Hotstepper” was recently sampled by Iggy Azalea on her debut major label single “Murda Bizness,” which features T.I.:

Australian rapper Iggy Azalea has been rising steadily since the 2011 release of her first mixtape Ignorant Art. Her snotty, tough-talking rhymes and her self-produced music videos lead to a major label contract with Interscope Records in late 2011. Her debut album The New Classic will be out in June of 2012, and “Murda Bizness” is her first official single. Produced by Bei Major (Trey Songz, Wiz Khalifa), “Murda Bizness” is a bass-heavy track with plenty of attitude, but the one thing I might call into question is Iggy’s accent — I’ve never heard an Australian sound the way she does. This could either speak to her authenticity, or her affectedness. Bei Major uses the “Hotstepper” sample texturally throughout “Murder Bizness,” layering it in and playing with the pitch to augment the track’s energy.

Some view sampling as a symptom of a lack of creativity, and that’s exactly why it is a polarizing topic in terms of contemporary pop music. Critics liken it to Hollywood’s nasty habit of repurposing old franchises and old ideas, updating and remaking anything that was once profitable. On the flip side, many argue that sampling is an art form not to be discredited. On a weekly-ish basis, SAMPLED aims to take it on a case-by-case basis, and examine the dividing practice of using samples in the creation of music.