The Think break is a drum break that has been widely sampled in popular music. It comes from the 1972 song "Think (About It)" by the American soul singer Lyn Collins, written and produced by James Brown. The drum break was performed by John "Jabo" Starks.[1]

Background and impact

In 1987, "Think (About It)" was featured on the 16th volume of the drum break compilation Ultimate Breaks & Beats, a highly popular series among hip hop producers.[2][3] That year marked the first known use of the "Woo! Yeah!" break, when the Beatmasters, a British hip hop production trio, sampled the break for Cookie Crew's song "Females (Get On Up)".[4] While "Females" was a minor hit in the UK, the break did not receive major airplay and attention until the following year, when it was used as the backing loop for the 1988 song "It Takes Two" by MC Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock.[5] The song, which is almost entirely composed of sampled parts from "Think (About It)", became a platinum-selling hit.[1]

It became almost ubiquitous in dance and hip hop records during the late 1980s and early 1990s and continues to see use.[4]

In addition to the famous "Yeah! Woo!" sample, another part of the drum break has seen prominent use in songs of diverse breakbeat subgenres such as jungle, drum and bass and breakcore.[6][7] The sample contains a short, ad-libbed shout by one of the musicians, and is usually played at a higher speed, giving the shout a very recognizable character.

References

  1. 1 2 Read, Chris. "A Brief History of 'The Think Break', the Funk Classic Sampled 2,000 Times". WhoSampled. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  2. ↑ "Ultimate Breaks and Beats - SBR 516". Innovative Music Corporation. Archived from the original on 21 October 2009. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  3. ↑ Ettelson, Robbie. "Ultimate Breaks & Beats: An Oral History". Cuepoint. Medium. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Samples of Think (About It) by Lyn Collins". WhoSampled.
  5. ↑ Weingarten, Christopher R. (July 20, 2018). "Best of '88: How Rob Base and D.J. E-Z Rock's 'It Takes Two' Became an Overnight Smash". Rolling Stone.
  6. ↑ Haven, Simon (August 8, 2022). "Drum Breaks: A Guide To Injecting Character into Your Music". edmprod.
  7. ↑ Keith, James (November 9, 2018). "The Building Blocks Of Jungle: 10 Samples That Sculpted The UK Sound". Trench.
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