SAMPLED is a 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? We look at the original song with some historical context, and then review the modern-day production that samples the original. For better or worse, this is the process by which a huge portion of contemporary pop music is assembled. On a weekly basis, SAMPLED aims to approach it case-by-case, and examine the dividing practice of using samples in the creation of music.

This week, the sample in question comes from Wilson Pickett’s 1979 Soul/Funk/R&B song “Shameless,” which appears on his album I Want You:

R&B singer/songwriter Wilson Pickett was heavily influential in developing the sound of American soul and gospel music, writing and recording over fifty songs during a career that spans almost half a century. He was born in Alabama in 1941, and owed his musical education to singing in church choirs form an early age. In the ’50s, he brought gospel into a popular context with his vocal group The Falcons, who didn’t break through to a mainstream audience until after Pickett found solo success. Pickett’s rise to prominence came with the release of his solo smash “In The Midnight Hour” in 1965, which would eventually sell over one million copies. Pickett went on to release over fifty more singles during his career, including million-seller “Land Of A Thousand Dances,” and many other popular covers, including “Mustang Sally” and “Sugar, Sugar.” Pickett’s forceful, emotional wail was a fixture of American music for many decades, and though he passed away in 2006, his legacy lives on in many popular recordings today.

“Shameless” was recently sampled by Rick Ross’ song “Ashamed,” produced by Cool & Dre, and appearing on his new album God Forgives, I Don’t:

Rick Ross usually opts for a more synthesized, trap style of production when he’s selecting his beats, so you know that when he picks something with a prominent sample, it’s a testament to the quality of the original source material. The Cool & Dre-produced “Ashamed” is one of the only sample-based productions on God Forgives, I Don’t, with Rick Ross reflecting on a life of hustling, and his rise to rap megastardom. The sample of “Shameless” sounds almost unaltered, and some additional drum programming is all the arrangement needs to make it Rozay-ready.