SAMPLED: Big Boi – "The Thickets" feat. Sleepy Brown

by Aaron Zorgel

December 19, 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 “553-Nasty,” an interlude from Charlotte R&B group Jodeci’s 1991 debut Forever My Lady:

If you’re not a nineties R&B aficionado, you might not be all that familiar with Jodeci’s music, but if you’re a nineties child like me, chances are you’ve awkwardly slow-danced to one particular song by two key members of Jodeci.

Jodeci is a four member R&B group, formed in Charlotte, North Carolina by two sets of brothers, Cedric & Joel Hailey and Donald & Dalvin DeGrate. They’re better known by their stage names: JoJo, Dalvin DeVante Swing, K-Ci, and Mr. Dalvin.

The brothers Hailey and DeGrate spent their early years singing in gospel groups, and connected through their respective girlfriends. JoJo and DeVante recorded a demo tape together, and decided to travel to New York City and shop it around to record labels, with K-Ci and Dalvin tagging along. The boys scored some facetime with Jamaican hip-hop legend Heavy D, and were eventually signed to Uptown Records.

A young record executive by the name of Sean “Puffy” Combs was tasked with giving the gentlemen of Jodeci a hip-hop image, and arranged for them to perform backing vocals on singles by Father MC, Ralph Tresvant (New Edition), and Jasmine Guy.

Jodecai’s first record, Forever My Lady, reached number one on the Billboard R&B charts, selling over three million copies and spawning the hit singles “Stay” and “Come and Talk to Me.” “553-Nasty” is a brief example of the swelling R&B majesty Jodeci are capable of. For me, it doesn’t have the same kind of awkward boner-inspiring nostalgia that “All My Life” does, but it’s still super sensual.

“553-Nasty” was recently sampled by Big Boi and his co-producers Cy Fyre and Chris Carmouche on “The Thickets,” a track from Big Boi’s latest outing, Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors:

Big Boi doesn’t rely too heavily on sampling on Vicious Lies And Dangerous Rumours. Most of the album is based around original production, with a few exceptions, including when Big Boi samples himself on album highlight “In The A.”

Aside from the album’s intro, “The Thickets” is the first full-length song on VLADR, chopping a dreamy loop from “553-Nasty,” pitching it down and adding some reverb to make it sound even more otherworldly. Sir Luscious loves the lushness.

Tags: Music, Featured, News, Big Boi, jodeci

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