SAMPLED: J. Cole – "Rise Above"

by Aaron Zorgel

February 14, 2013

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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 “Rise Above” by the Dirty Projectors, from their 2007 re-interpretation of the Black Flag song of the same name:

With their 2007 record Rise Above, Brooklyn alt-pop mainstay Dirty Projectors aimed to reinterpret Damaged by Black Flag, a seminal hardcore record, from memory after not hearing it for fifteen years. Even if it might take you a few songs to realize that the source material for the tribute is Rollins and company, Dirty Projectors’ experimental take on Black Flag’s ferocious 1981 album features off-beat time signatures, a requisite dosage of raw and energetic moments, and of course, the lush harmonies that are a staple of the Dirty Projectors’ sound.

Dave Longstreth, Amber Coffman, Brian McOmber, Nat Baldwin, and Susanna Weiche slow down the arresting pace of Black Flag’s orignal, nearly doubling the length, replacing Rollins’ stilted barks with unstructured warbles and layered three-part harmonies. Check out the original version below, and mess up your brain thinking about how Longstreth’s Dirty Projectors took the quintessential hardcore anthem and transformed it into a hauntingly angelic lullaby.

The Dirty Projectors’ version of “Rise Above” was recently sampled by J. Cole on his Truly Yours EP:

It’s been a good week in Cole World. Today, J. Cole released the first single from Born Sinner (“Power Trip” feat. Miguel), but not before spontaneously releasing an EP of songs that didn’t make the cut first. On Tuesday, Cole dropped a five song EP called Truly Yours, aiming to tide over the fans who have been patiently waiting for his much-delayed second studio album.

Truly Yours features five sample-heavy productions, including the self-produced “Rise Above,” an introspective cut that features a pitched-up section from the chorus of Dirty Projectors’ Black Flag reinvention. Cole adds a big bassline, a couple of ethereal synth pad and leads, and some boom-bap drum production to elevate the sample. If this didn’t make it onto Born Sinner, it only bodes well for what’s to come in Cole World.

Tags: Music, Featured, News, Black Flag, Dirty Projectors, J Cole

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