Impeach the President explained

Impeach the President
Type:single
Artist:The Honey Drippers
B-Side:"Roy C's Theme Song"
Released:June 1, 1973[1] [2]
Genre:Funk
Label:Alaga Records, Tuff City Records
Producer:Roy C

"Impeach the President" is a song by funk band the Honey Drippers, written and produced by Roy Charles Hammond, known as Roy C. It was first released as a single on Alaga Records in 1973, and was re-released to iTunes by Tuff City Records in 2017, after being sampled hundreds of times since the mid-1980s.[3] It is a protest song advocating the impeachment of then–U.S. President Richard Nixon.[4] In the chorus, the band chants the song's title while Roy persuades them to stop. The B-side is "Roy C's Theme".[5]

Significance

The song takes its drum pattern from "Funky Drummer" by James Brown; one of the most widely heard beats sampled and interpolated in hip hop, R&B, jazz and pop music.[6] [7] [8]

Sampling history

According to Mark Katz, Marley Marl in 1986 "became the first hip-hop producer to sample and reconfigure a recorded drum break" when he used the drum break from "Impeach the President" as the instrumental basis for MC Shan's song "The Bridge".[9]

In 1987, Audio Two used a two-second sample of "Impeach the President" on the song "Top Billin'".[10]

Digital Underground sampled the song on "Flowin' on the D-Line" from their 1991 album Sons of the P.[11]

In 1992, Tuff City Records sued Sony Music and Def Jam Records, alleging that samples of "Impeach the President" were used in L.L. Cool J's songs "Around the Way Girl" and "6 Minutes of Pleasure", as well as EPMD's "Give the People".[12] In a commentary in Billboard magazine, Aaron Fuchs, president oF Tuff City Records, stated that he charged a "low four-figure sum ... (three figures and less for indie labels)" to license "Impeach the President".[13]

Digable Planets sampled the song in "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)" in 1993.[14]

A Sprite commercial in 1995 featured Large Professor and Grand Puba freestyling over the song's breakbeat.[15]

"Impeach the President" was among the samples used in Nas's song "I Can".[16]

Kali Uchis sampled the beat in "Mucho Gusto" on her mixtape Drunken Babble.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Impeach the President - Single by the Honey Drippers. June 1973. 2021-08-04. 2021-08-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20210804223431/https://music.apple.com/us/album/impeach-the-president-single/1315891631. dead.
  2. Web site: Impeach the President. Amazon .
  3. Book: Metcalf, Josephine . African American Culture and Society After Rodney King: Provocations and Protests, Progression and Post-racialism. 2015. Ashgate Publishing. 9781472455390. 182.
  4. Web site: Mlynar. Phillip. Hive Five: Great Moments in Hip-Hop Inspired by Presidents . https://web.archive.org/web/20171107023009/http://www.mtv.com/news/2695483/hip-hop-presidents/ . dead . November 7, 2017 . MTV. 1 November 2017. en.
  5. Web site: Impeach the President / Roy C's Theme, by The Honey Drippers. Tuff City Records. 1 November 2017.
  6. Web site: Reiff. Corbin. These are the breaks: 10 of the most sampled drum beats in music history. The A.V. Club. 26 August 2015 . 1 November 2017.
  7. Web site: Doran. John. James Brown – 10 of the best. The Guardian. 1 November 2017. 28 October 2015.
  8. Web site: Markman. Rob. Nas In 'Rare Form' On New Album, Salaam Remi Says. https://web.archive.org/web/20171107023018/http://www.mtv.com/news/1674664/nas-album-salaam-remi/. dead. November 7, 2017. MTV. 1 November 2017. en.
  9. Book: Katz . Mark . Groove Music: The Art and Culture of the Hip-Hop DJ . 2012 . Oxford . Oxford University Press . 9780199913015 . 2024-07-14.
  10. Book: Cowan . Andy . B-Side: A Flipsided History of Pop . 2023 . Oxford, England . Headpress . 9781915316134 .
  11. Book: Rabaka . Reiland . The Hip Hop Movement: From R&B and the Civil Rights Movement to Rap and the Hip Hop Generation . 2013 . Lexington Books . Lanham, Md. . 9780739181164 . 262 .
  12. Davies . Barbara . Tuff City Sues Sony, Def Jam Over Sample on Cool J Singles . . 11 January 1992 . 71.
  13. Fuchs . Aaron . What's in a Hip-Hop Drum Beat? Plenty, If You Own the Original Master . . 23 May 1992 . 4.
  14. Book: Schonfeld . Zach . 24-Carat Black's Ghetto: Misfortune's Wealth . 2021 . Bloomsbury Academic . New York . 9781501355516 .
  15. Nelson . Havelock . Loud's Mobb Deep Depicts 'Infamous' Hood: 2nd Set Captures N.Y. Ghetto Life in Cinematic Detail . . 8 April 1995 . 24.
  16. Book: Jeffries . Michael P. . Thug Life: Race, Gender, and the Meaning of Hip-Hop . 2011 . University of Chicago Press . Chicago . 9780226395845 . 72 .

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