OneFourOne

In the final instalment of our extensive Paul’s Boutique breakdown, we’re dedicating an entire piece to the nine-part, twelve-minute closing track. Bouillabaisse, anybody?

In the second instalment of our three-part Paul’s Boutique breakdown, we’re diving deeper into the singular sampledelic sound of a hip-hop classic! This part covers “Hey Ladies” through to “Ask For Janice,” and continues in ‘The B-Boy Bouillabaisse Breakdown’.

A classic unappreciated in its time, Paul’s Boutique is an intricate exhibition of true production prowess. Built almost entirely from samples, the Dust Brothers-produced record is kaleidoscopic, psychedelic and deeply referential. This week, we’re breaking down the samples on the “Sgt. Pepper of hip-hop.”

Before Masta Ace was a dextrous emcee with a love of concept albums, he was a young kid trying to get ahead alongside his Cold Chillin’ colleagues. With invaluable assists from Marley Marl, Mister Cee and DJ Steady Pace, he released his astute and earnest debut, Take A Look Around, in 1990.

Kool G Rap has inspired some of the greatest emcees of all time, and is often given that designation himself. Despite this, he’s never really been a mainstream staple. In honour of G Rap’s contributions to the craft, we’re breaking down his 1995 solo debut, which found him exploring the subgenre he’d helped create: mafioso rap.

When Grand Daddy I.U. dropped Smooth Assassin in 1990, he was already a 22-year-old alumni of hip hop’s most legendary collective. Whilst his career never fully took off, the Grand Daddy still rocked the mic with his distinctive delivery and ostentatious garb. We’re looking back at the refined emcee’s obscure debut.

Before Queensbridge emcee Percy Chapman was Tragedy Khadafi, he was Intelligent Hoodlum, a young socio-political firebrand with a long list of grievances. His self-titled 1990 debut is a hip hop relic that explores injustice, upheaval, celebrations and irreverence in equal measure. That’s definitely something worth exploring, so jump in!

Ice-T’s Power, his 1988 sophomore album, found him expanding on the niche he’d helped create - gangsta rap - just one month after N.W.A’s genre-defining debut. In celebration of the 30th anniversary, we’re looking at the samples on the Afrika Islam-produced LP!

JJ Fad’s Supersonic, though hardly a masterpiece, was the first effort out of Eazy-E’s Ruthless Records, presaging 1988 efforts by N.W.A and Eazy himself. The charting album and its hit singles helped establish the label, a move which helped Straight Outta Compton make history. For the 30th anniversary, we’re breaking down the samples on the indispensable record.

Sweet Tee’s It’s Tee Time - her only record - remains an important but oft-overlooked slice of 1988 hip hop. Though hardly influential, the record found a new artist collaborating with one of the most successful pop-rap producers of the day, Hurby Luv Bug, to create a lighthearted and surprisingly versatile LP.

The Jungle Brothers’ debut LP, Straight Out The Jungle, paired upbeat jazz samples with positive Afrocentricity. This then-novel vision kickstarted jazz rap and marked the beginning of the Native Tongues collective, a loose group of likeminded artists whose vision would leave an indelible mark on ‘90s alternative hip hop.

Straight Outta Compton: the definitive gangsta rap album. It made legends out of Eazy, Cube and Dre, setting the stage for a five-year period of commercial dominance that established the West Coast as a hip hop powerhouse. In this instalment of Behind…, we’re diving into the samples that help keep the record as exciting and incendiary as it was 30 years ago.

The second and final instalment of our piece on Straight Outta Compton, we look at the samples in tracks “Express Yourself” through “Something 2 Dance 2.”

Follow The Leader - Eric B. & Rakim’s sophomore album - was released on July 25, 1988. The album, which boasts some of Rakim’s most commanding verses, is steeped in old school sensibilities that would soon give way to the more socio-political bent of ‘90s hip hop. In this instalment of Behind…, we’re looking at a classic from one of hip hop’s most formidable and influential duos.

Though emcees such as Roxanne Shanté and Antoinette had been releasing standalone singles for some time, MC Lyte’s 1988 debut, Lyte As A Rock, was hip hop’s first solo female LP. A critical and commercial success, it paved the way for female emcees throughout the ‘90s and beyond. In this edition of Behind…, we break down the impressive and oft-hilarious trailblazer.

One of the most important albums of all time, Public Enemy’s It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, is turning thirty. In celebration of hip hop’s most revered LP, we’re taking a look at the samples that underpin PE’s magnum opus.

In this, the second part of our breakdown of Public Enemy's It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, we cover from "Night of the Living Baseheads" to "Party For Your Right To Fight."

Big Daddy Kane’s 1988 debut, Long Live The Kane, remains an important milestone in hip hop. Kane’s lyrical dexterity and fast-paced delivery would influence artists such as Nas and RZA, helping shape the ever-evolving art of hip hop. In honour of the 30th anniversary, we’re breaking down the samples throughout the classic debut!

Take Me To Your Leader, the sole album by Daniel Dumile's King Geedorah, turns 15 today. We’re looking back at the samples that help make it such a standout album in Dumile's already-substantial canon.

In this instalment of the ‘Behind…’ series, we tackle Quasimoto's debut LP, The Unseen. Let’s delve into the samples that helped make the 2000 record such an essential slice of underground hip hop.