Sampling has been a mainstay within Hip-Hop music for decades. Taking bits and pieces from any song and creating something entirely new has evolved over the years. The genre has gone from sampling all types of music ranging from funk, jazz and rock to even some of gaming’s best music. Lets look into some of the best usage of video game samples.
Lil Flip - Game Over
Sampled: Ms. Pac-Man
Though this is the Houston rapper’s only top 40 hit, Lil Flip’s decision to use a beat created with chopped samples of Ms. Pac-Man. Those with a keen ear will hear sound effects like fruit and yellow dot chomp along with the signature power-pellet recovery chime. Lyrically, Flip is all over the place and it’s pretty obvious why this was his only real hit. Maybe he should have tried sampling Contra, it would have came off harder.
Tom Cruz & Fat Tony: Double Dragon
Sampled: Double Dragon
Experimental Hip-Hop duo Double Dragon consist of Houston rapper Fat Tony and New York producer/rapper Tom Cruz. Obviously, the twosome was inspired by Technos’ classic in every aspect on their free Double Dragon mixtape released last year. Even the video for the title track pays homage to the 8-bit visuals.
Wiz Khalifa - Never Been
Sampled: Chrono Trigger
It’s pretty clear that Wiz Khalifa’s Kush & Orange Juice was his breakout mixtape when released in Spring 2010. One of the standout tracks came by way of strip-club anthem “Never Been,” which samples Yasunori Mitsuda’s classic Chrono Trigger track, “Schala’s Theme.” Who would have thought that beat inspiration would come from the 1995 Super Nintendo RPG.
Bone Thugs and Harmony: Eternal
Sample: Eternal Champions
Eternal Champions was Sega’s lame attempt to enter the fighting game genre through a horrid mix of Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat. Since it’s 1993 release, it’s been all but forgotten. Cleveland group Bone Thugs and Harmony took the game’s obscure intro and used it (through producer DJ U-Neek) in “Eternal” a highlight track on their 1999 sophomore album E. 1999 Eternal.
SWV: I Missed Us
Sample: Legend of Zelda
Sure SWV technically is an R&B group but Hip-Hop has always been the backbone to the trio’s sound. For their first album in ten plus year’s they used The Legend of Zelda’s “Fairy Theme.” This shouldn’t have worked the way it did but thank goodness producer’s had reverence for Nintendo’s classic franchise.
