From: david j warner <dwarner@silver.ucs.indiana.edu>
Subject: Re: Random Musings
Organization: Indiana University
            <1992Apr13.163132.10430@bronze.ucs.indiana.edu> 
            <1992Apr15.070654.16255@athena.mit.edu>
Date: Wed, 15 Apr 1992 10:57:21 -0500

In article <1992Apr15.070654.16255@athena.mit.edu> madpit@athena.mit.edu (Douglas R. Pitters) writes:
>In article <1992Apr13.163132.10430@bronze.ucs.indiana.edu>, david j warner <dwarner@silver.ucs.indiana.edu> writes:
>> Well, as long as they gave miss Chapman the props, then it's cool.  My point,
>> however, is this -- Any time a rap artist or group grabs a sample of a familiar
>> non-rap tune, they're going for the crossover.  I never took notice until
>
>	They might be going for a groove that sounds funky.  And what do you
>define as a "familiar non-rap tune"?  X-Clans first tracks sampled from
>Parliament's "One Nation Under A Groove" a familiar non-rap tune to any
>flavorful person above 30 or so, but they didn't go crossover, and noone
>wondered why.  Brand Nubians "Wake Up" sampled from Roy Ayers, "Everybody
>Lives In the Sunshine(?)"  another non rap tune, or even take "All for One"
>by the Brand Nubes, which was sampled from some popular pop band, who's name
>escapes me at the moment, and which is why I shouldn't even use this as an
>example....

Yes, but these are not tunes familiar to mainstream pop, to which is I was
referring.  Even popheads know "Fast Car," as do a lot of other people in
different musical styles, whereas less people would be familiar with the P-Funk
or Roy Ayers.  This one Chapman song may be her most well-known song to date,
and I think Nice & Smooth are taking advantage of that, while the others you
mentioned aren't as well known as "Fast Car," therefore less familiar to most.
The appeal lies in the fact that more people would recognize "Fast Car" than
they would your average Parliament tune.  I don't recognize a lot of their
stuff myself, so that says something.

>> hamma dropped "U Can't Touch This" with that Rick James groove in there.  Then
>> came Vanilla Wafer and that Queen sample, and that set things off.  Before
>> this happened, nobody really thought about trying to cross over onto the pop
>> scene with a pop sample.  Now a lot of groups are doing it -- P.M. Dawn, 3rd
>> Bass, De La Soul, etc.  It doesn't take a lot of effort to pull something like
>> that, and it usually results in a poptop hit.  If you see a lot more hype about
>> Greg Nice & Smooth B in the near future as a result of this song, don't be
>> alarmed.
>
>	This sounds like other rap artists started doing this after U Can't
>Touch this. I assume that you do not mean that.
>

	Well, yeah, they did it before Hammuh, too, but it became much more
noticeable to me, if to nobody else, that this was being done.  I remember LL
cutting up a few bits and pieces of tunes I recognized on "Radio," but then
again, he went for the straight crossover and lost props along the way.

>> 	This is not to say that they don't deserve the props.  A lot of the
>> groups I mentioned above that sample the pop tunes were down from the start,
>> as were Nice & Smooth, but in this case, I think the group, or maybe just the
>> record company, wants to make the cash on this single.
>> 
>
>	Never know,  Tracy Champman might get more $$$ for this one, but
>it still sounds dope, which is why they laid the track in the first place.
>

	True, but I still think Nice & Smooth are looking to boost themselves
in the process (or the record company - they still make much moolah off stuff
like this).  For all I know, this may never happen, but I wouldn't be surprised
at all if it did.

5000...



-- 
- David J. Warner            - "Maybe (Montross) plays better after he gets   -
- dwarner@ucs.indiana.edu    -  hit on the head."                             -
- (One for all...            -                              - Dean Smith      -
-             BRAND NUBIAN!) -                                                -
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