SOUL STRUT - CRATE DIGGING DJ & (un)POPULAR CULTURE

So tonight I'm at my first ever Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings show. Shit was DOPE. Took Moms - who's also 50-ish and can saaaaaang her ass off - and she loved it. Really though, everything I can say has been said many times before and in better ways. In short, if you have the opportunity to see them perform, GO.

Okay, now that I got that out of the way....

So after the standard "Thank you and goodnight!" faux-walk-off-stage-and-return-for-encore maneuver, the band kicks in with a rather familiar beat. I snap into "OH SHIT!" mode, trying to figure out who sampled it. I pulled out my celly cell and used the 'record' function to capture a snippet of it in case I got distracted and "lost" the sound. (I'm the type of dude who usually has to replay the sample over & over in my head - sometimes for hours - before I can remember.)

During the final seconds of the song it hits me:

"I don't like it unless it's BRAND NEW!/You might see me in my BRAND NEW! whiiiiiip with my BRAND NEW! biiiitch..."

That Rhymefest/Kanye shit! So right after the song, dudes (and Sharon) get off stage and into the audience to meet & greet folks. So I got my little Sharpie and the Dap-Dippin' With... LP that I had just bought (and more importantly to the story, NEVER before heard) and approach them for an autograph.

After huggin' and cheek-kissin' Ms. Jones, I hit up one of the band members:

Me: "Great show, man! Hey, what was that last song you just played?"

Band dude: "It's called 'Pick It Up, Lay It In The Cut.'"

Me (in sample-spotter mode & not necessarily "up" on my Funk knowledge): "Dope, Kanye just sampled it. Who's it by?"

Band dude: "Wait, Kanye just sampled it?"

Me: "Yeah. Well, actually, it's a Rhymefest song, but Kanye's on it and he produced it. So who did the song?"

Band dude: "Ummmm, us. It's on this album right here."

Me (to self): "Ohhhhhhh fuuuuuuck."

Dude turned around and told the rest of the crew what I had just told him and they all started talking about it.

Damn, I fucked up. But in my defense, I thought they were doing another cover! I mean, they started the night with that song that Ice T sampled for "Lethal Weapon" (Sample FAQ says it's "Razor Blade" by Little Royal & the Swingmasters), so I figured they were ending the night with one, too! I mean, dude in the band IS Daptone Records, right? So if the sampled was cleared, he'd have already known, right? Well apparently, HE didn't and I guess IT wasn't.

So, if you're reading this Kanye or Rhymefest, I AM SORRY. I didn't meant to put you on blast and I hope this doesn't affect you at all legally. Who knows, maybe J Records DID clear the sample and maybe dude doesn't own his publishing so that's why he was unaware of it. In any case,

I apologize.

Herm