It is hard to believe that it has been nine years since the passing of Michael Jackson. His music is timeless and his legacy will continue to live on through those he inspired performance wise and musically. In hip hop his music has been sampled numerous times, producing classics in their own right. I wanted to revisit some of these tracks that will always remain unforgettable.
The first track is Mc Lyte’s “Poor Georgie” form her 1991 album Act Like You Know. On the chorus it samples Michael Jackson’s “I Wanna Be Where You Are” off his 1972 album Got To Be There. “Poor Georgie” topped the rap singles charts while “I Wanna Be Where You Are” was a top 20 hit at the time.
Mc Lyte – Poor Georgie
Michael Jackson – I Wanna Be Where You Are
Next track to visit is “Our Dreams” off of the 2010 collaboration album Wu-Massacre that consisted of Wu-Tang Clan members Method Man, Ghostface Killah, and Raekwon. The song served as the lead single for the critically acclaimed album. Right from the beginning it is sampling Michael Jackson’s “We’re Almost There” from his 1975 album Forever, Michael. The song was a top ten r&b hit for him.
Method Man – Our Dreams feat. Ghostface Killah & Raekwon
Michael Jackson – We’re Almost There
Third track to mention is De La Soul’s “Breakadawn” from the 1993 album Buhloone Mindstate. The intro samples Michael Jackson’s album cut “I Can’t Help It” from 1979’s Off The Wall. “Breakadawn” chart wise was De La Soul’s second biggest hit of their career.
De La Soul – Breakadawn
Michael Jackson – I Can’t Help It
The fourth track is LL Cool J’s “Hey Lover”. It was the lead single from his 1995 album Mr Smith. It is considered to be one of his hugest hits of his career and earned a Grammy. The song sampled the album cut “The Lady In My Life” from Michael Jackson’s most famous album Thriller, released in 1982.
LL Cool J – Hey Lover feat. Boys II Men
Michael Jackson – The Lady In My Life
Last track to discuss is Nas’s “It Ain’t Hard To Tell” off of 1994’s Illmatic. Right from the first verse you can hear the sample of Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature” which was off Thriller as well. This song is considered to be one of the best songs released in the 90s across all genres period. For Michael it was a top ten smash when it was initially released.
Nas – It Ain’t Hard To Tell
Michael Jackson – Human Nature
These are just a few examples of impactful hip hop songs that brilliantly sampled Michael Jackson’s music. Taking the timeless music he created to form new classics. Michael Jackson’s music crossed all genres. Wanted to remind folks the impact he had with hip hop. May his music and legacy continue to live on.
