The news of Prince passing away yesterday at the young age of 57 left a lot of people stunned. Tributes poured in from the likes of Barack Obama to Missy Elliott, and monuments all around the world glowed in purple in tribute to the star.
From having an astounding 39 studio albums, to lashing out at the unfair circumstances the music industry had him in (famously performing at The Brits with ‘slavery’ scrawled on his cheek to show how he was a “slave to the music industry”), Prince was known for his eccentric ways (and clothing!).
Having written for many artists including Madonna and Tom Jones, and having been sampled so many times, Prince’s influence on the music industry is undeniable.
Check out 5 of our favourite examples of the late great Prince being sampled in Hip-Hop.
“I Get Around” – 2Pac samples “The Ladder”
Tupac is notably one artist that sampled Prince on several occasions. In fact, a love letter penned by a teenage Tupac which recently went on sale has mentions of his love for Prince.
“Excuse Me Miss” – Jay Z ft Pharrell samples “Walk Don’t Walk”
Not only does Pharrell’s voice bare reminiscent to Prince’s, he apparently penned “Frontin” for the pop-legend.
Kanye West – “Big Brother” samples “It’s Gonna Be Lonely”
Prince once praised Kanye for turning an old sample into something new with “Gold Digger”, and in the wake of Prince’s early death, Kanye had this to say, “When I was a little kid, I used to listen to his albums – he taught me a lot. And then from the age of about 14, I was lucky enough to be able to return that favour and be an influence on him. I think you can all hear it in his music”.
“Would You Die For Me?” – Notorious BIG feat. Lil Kim & Puff Daddy samples “Kiss”
The intro’ to this track samples one of Prince’s most well known songs, “Kiss”.
“Mama Told Me” – Big Boi ft Kelly Rowland samples “Automatic”
It’s no doubt that fellow Outkast member Andre 3000 is influenced by Prince. He recently spoke out about the advice he was given when Outkast were prepping for their comeback tour; “When you come back, people want to be wowed. And what’s the best way to wow people? Just give them the hits”.