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Apr 28, 2009 Web Exclusive By Nate Daly

Along with Motown, Stax Records defined an era of soul music in the ‘60s and ‘70s. And from the parents who lived with and loved the sound of Stax came children who would sample and appropriate the breaks into loops that would become the foundation of hip-hop. This compilation collects the original Stax hits that spawned so many hip-hop classics.

Isaac Hayes and David Porter alone were responsible for much of Stax’s success and if it weren’t for the duo’s prolific work, the hip-hop world would be in poor shape. “Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymystic” alone was used by Ice Cube, King Tee, DJ Quik, NWA, and Above the Law, but its piano riff is probably best recognized in Public Enemy’s “Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos.” Another Hayes/Porter arrangement, “As Long as I’ve Got You” by The Charmels, was torn apart by RZA and turned into Wu-Tang Clan’s “C.R.E.A.M.” RZA especially harvested from the Stax catalog to provide Wu-Tang with backing tracks. On this collection alone, six tracks were turned into hits for the group.

Perhaps my favorite original track and sample in the collection is Hayes’ instrumental “Hung Up on My Baby,” which was used on the soundtrack to the blaxploitation movie Three Tough Guys. Sampled and cut by Houston’s Geto Boys for their number-one song “Mind Playing Tricks on Me,” the loop used becomes a grandstand for the act’s challenge of obscenity laws. Of course, The Geto Boys were eventually sued for unauthorized use of the sample. At least with this release, Stax and its artists will get paid for their work. (www.soulsvilleusa.com)

Author rating: 7/10