The five best Bill Withers samples in hip-hop
For an artist who proved to be quite as monumentally important as he ultimately did, Bill Withers enjoyed a relatively short music career. Over the course of less than two decades, he released so many classic albums and songs, but, once he decided he was done, he truly was done.
Withers retired in 1985, not long after the release of his eighth and final album Watching You, Watching Me. Having started his music career fairly late, while he was in his early 30s, Withers, by the mid-1980s, had become fed up with the goings-on of the music industry and decided to call it a day. But, unlike so many artists who announce their early retirement, he actually kept to his word.
Withers really did pull back from the business and the public eye, meaning that the eight albums he recorded during his time under the limelight are all we’ve got. But even though his career was locked into that incredible run, beginning with his 1971 debut Just as I Am and ending with ’85’s Watching You, Watching Me, that’s not to say his music itself didn’t develop further. Much of it has lived a life beyond that of its initial creator.
So many artists have turned to Withers through the years, be that by covering his songs or by sampling them. Hip-hop producers have been especially fond of using his tracks in their work, with plenty of out-and-out classics being created as a result. Here’s a list of some of the best rap songs to sample Bill Withers, albeit many great songs didn’t make the cut.
The five best Bill Withers samples in hip-hop:
5. Will Smith – ‘Just the Two of Us’
This is one of the more on-the-nose sampling jobs, as Hollywood star Will Smith’s ‘Just the Two of Us’ bears plenty of similarities to the song it samples. The original version isn’t actually Withers’ song as such, as he co-wrote and performed on it for jazz musician Grover Washington Jr, who included it on his 1980 album Winelight. This original version was written as a romantic love song, but Will Smith, reworking it for his first solo album Big Willie Style in 1997, took the lyrics in another direction.
Smith’s ‘Just the Two of Us’ is a love song of sorts, but it’s about the love of a father for his child. The music video hammered that point home, as it depicted the Fresh Prince playing with his first son Trey. The track performed better as a single in the UK, where it reached number two in the charts, than it did in the US, but the song was rendered iconic when Dr Evil rapped a version of it to express his love for Mini-Me in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.
4. Kendrick Lamar – ‘Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst’
Bill Withers isn’t alone within the context of ‘Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst.’ Kendrick Lamar’s epic track, which appears on Good Kid, M.A.A.D City in two parts lasting a total of slightly more than 12 minutes, features samples from Grant Green’s ‘Maybe Tomorrow’ and the Singers Unlimited’s ‘My Romance.’ But buried in there, too, is the drum break from Withers’ great song ‘Use Me.’
Included as part of his 1972 album Still Bill, ‘Use Me’ was Withers’ second-biggest hit in the United States. It peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, but it has grown into a true classic in the decades since its release. Lyrically, Withers presents a nastier side of himself, compared to his ordinary nice boy image, but, musically, the track is effortlessly smooth. The drums are especially precise and effective, with Kendrick and his producer Like being drawn to them for the ‘Sing About Me’ section of the two-part song from Good Kid, M.A.A.D City.
3. Kanye West – ‘Roses’
For his second album, Late Registration, Kanye West moved away from the sped-up soul samples that had served his debut The College Dropout so well. He’d developed a reputation for his chipmunk soul stylings, but he feared being pigeon-holed and decided to instead focus on cultivating a more lush, orchestral sound for the album. Having said that, he did find himself dipping into soul classics here and there.
Ye turned to Bill Withers for his song ‘Roses,’ picking out the song ‘Rosie’ from Withers’ back catalogue. ‘Rosie’ initially didn’t have a home, emerging during the sessions for Withers’ 1977 album Menagerie but not being included on the finished product. It was only released later as a bonus track when the album was reissued. Kanye clearly heard something in it, so he sampled it for ‘Roses.’ Withers, for his part, is credited as a writer of the song.
2. 2Pac – ‘Soulja’s Story’
‘Soulja’s Story’ is a stand-out track from Tupac Shakur’s debut album 2Pacalypse Now, believed to be inspired by the story of Black Panther Party member and activist George Jackson. Having been incarcerated in 1960, Jackson founded a Marxist-Leninist gang in prison called the Black Guerrilla Family. It was established for the sake of promoting Black power and, ultimately, overthrowing the US government.
Musically Pac’s song relies on a great many samples, including songs by The DOC, Tom Scott and The LA Express, Melvin Bliss, and Isaac Hayes. But, crucially, Bill Withers is in there, too, with his classic ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’ forming a key part of ‘Soulja’s Story.’ Part of his first album Just As I Am, ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’ was a breakthrough hit for Withers and it is remembered today as one of his greatest songs.
1. Blackstreet featuring Dr Dre and Queen Pen – ‘No Diggity’
‘No Diggity,’ Blackstreet’s great hit that featured Dr Dre and Queen Pen, was a defining song of the mid-’90s. Released as a single from the group’s second album Another Level, 1.6 million copies were apparently sold throughout ’96 and the song even picked up a Grammy two years later, securing the award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. It was a true smash.
The track famously samples ‘Grandma’s Hands,’ Withers’ ode to his grandmother that appeared on Just as I Am. This sample actually features Withers’ voice humming, meaning his presence on it is especially keenly felt. Both his original song, and the rap track that sampled from it, are today classics.