Which producer does the soul sample the best
- Thread starter mr. smoke weed
- Start date
Myrical Lyfe
In the Gutter, of the Tunnel
Lib
Ye
The_King_of_Everything
Yeah.
Yeezy.
Just blaze in second
Just blaze in second
street heat
merchant of death
alchemist
No poll?
I think it depends on your taste. I'd say dilla is more creative like he chooses the best samples and puts them where you'd least expect but tries not as hard it's more simple but his beats are by far the most soulful. And kanye is more skilled almost like it's an art for him. He creates something new. His own sound.
I don't know too much about rza to comment but he has more of a niche hip hop sound and seemed focused on rhythm over samples on the songs I heard. His samples are part of the song but don't make the song.
But Dilla is
Mannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
This dilla beat is the reason i made this thread!! Dilla took Kanye's format and made it better than mr. west could do with donuts. I still think dillas just short of Rza but gawddddamn Donuts is a masterpiece
TheDarceKnight
Veteran
I think some of it depends on whether you're talking who is the best at sampling soul, or who is the best at giving you a certain feeling when you hear the music. Dilla sampled a Janet Jackson pop record and it had a lot of soul to it.
Of all time? I definitely would have to go outside of your list and go with Pete Rock. The horns, the bass lines...Pete is THE soul producer IMO.
Out of those 4 that you named? That's tricky. Dilla sampled from so many sources and had so many styles and eras. If you took Dilla's best soul beats they'd probably crush anyone on the list, but Just Blaze beasted a ton of soul records also. I definitely think Kanye did it the easiest. No knock, but he took a lot of real obvious loops or sped up vocal samples, and threw his clap/clack drums on them and then the bongo/congo drums. Still had a lot of fire.
I always like to judge based on albums instead of random songs, so RZA would be my #1 out of your list. Ironman and a lot of Only Built 4 Cuban Linx is enough right there to probably put him at the top spot. Just Blaze is the sleeper on your list, for sure.
Currently Madlib, 9th Wonder, and Alchemist are probably my 3 favorite producers that have a heavy soul influence. Madlib and ALC both sample a lot outside of the soul genre right now, but when they do decide to chop or loop soul I think they do it better than anyone in 2014. 9th mostly sticks to soul records as a source of inspiration, so he's pretty much always on the list.
chosenaledge13
Superstar
Prime Kanye made tracks you could vibe to and were timeless, but Dilla could bring a nikka to tears with his shyt because he kept the ESSENCE of the original track intact. The spirit in his production is almost haunting. 9th said that Dilla taught him how to put the "moans" in his production, those emotional wordless vocals that make you cringe 
. Pete Rock was the originator, Dilla took it to another level, and Kanye brought it to the masses...
. Pete Rock was the originator, Dilla took it to another level, and Kanye brought it to the masses...
I think rza/PR originally perfected sampling soul records....Kanye took that idea and updated it in an amazing formulatic way but J Dilla was the best at doing it, 9Th was a monster for a long time as well
TheDarceKnight
Veteran
I feel the flamethrowers getting heated up to torch my ass on this one, and I swear Kanye is one of my favorite producers of all time. He's a legend. fukk, I mean I had a period where I was straight up addicted to collecting every Kanye beat and sample I could find. I was wearing his verses out on his old mixtapes when they were labeled Kayne West by mistake, all that.
That being said, I don't know if it's his self-marketing, ego, or both mixed with some truth, but it's evident by the answers in this thread (people saying "Kanye easily" etc) that he did a great fukking job at convincing a lot of people that he "brought back the soul" like he said on The Bounce. I've always disagreed with that, but it's like saying the sky ain't blue at this point. I'd have to get pretty in depth, but when he makes it out like he was the only dude popping off with soul samples at that time, that's just not true. He took control of that narrative and ran with it. More respect to him.
He did have the most beats on Blueprint, 1 more than Just, and 2 more than Bink, and that album brought back that style to the mainstream, so in that sense I guess I agree with him.
He definitely did. The fact that he was able to do that is even bigger and better than his actual beats back then IMO.
That being said, I don't know if it's his self-marketing, ego, or both mixed with some truth, but it's evident by the answers in this thread (people saying "Kanye easily" etc) that he did a great fukking job at convincing a lot of people that he "brought back the soul" like he said on The Bounce. I've always disagreed with that, but it's like saying the sky ain't blue at this point. I'd have to get pretty in depth, but when he makes it out like he was the only dude popping off with soul samples at that time, that's just not true. He took control of that narrative and ran with it. More respect to him.
He did have the most beats on Blueprint, 1 more than Just, and 2 more than Bink, and that album brought back that style to the mainstream, so in that sense I guess I agree with him.
He definitely did. The fact that he was able to do that is even bigger and better than his actual beats back then IMO.
TheDarceKnight
Veteran
I think rza/PR originally perfected sampling soul records....Kanye took that idea and updated it in an amazing formulatic way but J Dilla was the best at doing it, 9Th was a monster for a long time as well
9th was a monster. It's funny because I think 9th is sort of doing his best work right now, but you gotta be pretty plugged into him and his label to hear it. He's not doing much work outside of his camp. Dude is a professor at Duke and Harvard, and I don't think you're gonna hear much 9th Wonder outside of the Jamla crew unless it's a full album with someone that he connects with. He's like Alchemist in that he's no longer looking for placements on big albums anymore.
9th also reminds me a lot of Pete and Preem because he never changed his style for anyone, and he stays in his lane, which makes him loved and hated depending on who you're talking to. Personally, I can't listen to 9th Wonder and not nod my head.
Mikeatris
Supreme Mathematik
Kanye as he relies on it heavily. The others can make beats without the use of samples. I like Kanye as a producer but he is not that original. He leans heavily on the samples and a lot of time they get old and repetitive. Same with Bronze.
TheDarceKnight
Veteran
Madlib's chops are peerless.
I want another MadGibbs album man. The 2nd beat on Real is probably my favorite beat of 2014.