SAMPLED: Alicia Keys – "Girl On Fire"

by Aaron Zorgel

December 6, 2012

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SAMPLED examines the skeletal production of a contemporary rap, R&B, hip-hop or pop song — Where did the loop, sample, or chopped up vocal providing the backbone originate? SAMPLED gives you the history, the context, and the insight.

This week, the sample is taken from Billy Squire’s 1980 arena rock anthem “The Big Beat”:

Billy Squire isn’t exactly a household name today, but in the eighties, his brand of pop-rock power anthems gave him a string of successful crossover hits. Squire is probably best known for “The Stroke,” a single from his 1981 album Don’t Say No that peaked at number seventeen on the Billboard Hot 100. For me, it’s one of those songs that you’ve totally heard before, but have no idea who it’s by until you Shazam it, or ask your hip former rocker mom.

Even if you’re not familiar with “The Stroke,” or any of Billy Squire’s numerous classic rock radio-friendly singles, chances are you’ve heard segments of “The Big Beat” dozens, maybe even hundreds of times. Heck, you might even be listening to it RIGHT NOW. The drum intro from “The Big Beat” is one of the most-sampled beats of all time, popping up in countless hip-hop and R&B songs. The pounding rhythm is typically slowed down, and has been used as the primary percussive element in Jay-Z’s “99 Problems,” Run-D.M.C.’s “Here We Go” (“We hope y’all ready for the big beat drum“), Dizzee Rascal’s “Fix Up, Look Sharp,” among many others.

“The Big Beat” was recently sampled by Jeff Bhasker, Salaam Remi, and Alicia Keys on the title track from her new album, Girl On Fire:

Alicia Keys has worked with Jeff Bhasker in the past (“Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart“), but this is Alicia’s first time working with the Salaam Remi. With three musically gifted people working in one room, it’s safe to say that any sample choice would be a very deliberate one, because between Remi, Bhasker, and Keys, this crew would have no trouble recreating something similar. The “Big Beat” sample carries hip-hop cache, and will have some kind of resonance (if only subconscious) with even the most leisurely hip-hop listener.

On “Girl On Fire,” Bhasker, Remi, and Keys have slowed down the “Big Beat” sample considerably. They let the first verse linger without percussion, and when the drums kick in for the chorus, it’s an extremely satisfying drop. Instead of singing Keys’ actual chorus lyrics, that drop makes me want to stand up, kick over my chair, and scream “I LOVE BILLY SQUIRE” at the top of my lungs.

Tags: Music, Featured, News, Alicia Keys, Billy Squire, Jeff Bhasker

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