Wu-Tang Clan
Hollow Bones
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Album: The W (2000)

Syl Johnson
Is It Because I’m Black
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Album: Is It Because I’m Black (1969)

Introducing Musical Cousins, where I take two or more tracks that relate to each other in some way. The most obvious application — including this one — will be to pair a modern-ish song with the original beat it samples. But I may latch on to other, more esoteric pairings as well.

For the inaugural edition, I’ve chosen a joint from the uneven Wu-Tang Clan record, The W. Verses from Raekwon, Inspectah Deck and Ghostface flow beautifully in a track that is made for headphones (but not for the dancefloor).

Contrast it to Syl Johnson’s original and witness RZA’s minimal, yet effective, sampling methodologies. He doesn’t utilize any sounds that aren’t part of the original song. He just increased the tempo, looped a few bits, and sprinkled on a few effects.

Though lyrically, the two tracks are markedly different — Johnson is wailing on the dehumanizing effects of racism while the Wu deliver intricate, crime-themed wordplay — they share an underlying despair and a driving force to persevere regardless of the bleak circumstances.