Kanye West’s Reggae And Dancehall Samples: 10 Times He Tapped Jamaican Music
Over the course of his career, Chicago-born rapper Kanye West has pushed the boundaries of hip-hop, blending disparate genres and sounds into something entirely new. One unexpected example of this is his deliberate melding of Reggae and Dancehall music to form the foundations of some of his more prominent works.
Despite having no apparent connection to Jamaican music or culture, Kanye has repeatedly turned to Dancehall Riddims and melodies in his projects, creating some of the most memorable and iconic tracks in his discography.
This article explores 10 of Kanye’s most popular tracks in which he has sampled and incorporated Dancehall and Reggae elements, drawing inspiration from veterans like Max Romeo to Noel Ellis.
Mercy (2012)
Sampled: Dust a Sound Boy (1976) by Super Beagle and Cu-Oonuh (1991) by Reggie Stepper
In Mercy, a collab with Big Sean, Pusha T and 2 Chainz, Ye tapped the voice of the late Fuzzy Jones, who referenced Matthew 13:42 from the Dust A Sound Boy intro, and chanted “Believe! Believe!” from the Cu-Oonuh intro. The Grammy-nominated song peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is currently certified 7X Platinum in the United States.
Jay-Z’s Lucifer (2003)
Sampled: Chase The Devil (1976) by Max Romeo
By the time Kanye earned the opportunity to directly collaborate with Roc-A-Fella head honcho, Jay Z, in 2003, one thing had become clear about the Chicago rapper: he had paid his dues as a struggling musician in the late 90s, and it was just about time for his big break. All that desperation for success came to the fore in Lucifer – the Reggae Hip Hop fusion track from Jay-Z’s triple Platinum project, The Black Album – which sampled Max Romeo and The Upsetters’ Chase The Devil. The 1976 classic, which is produced by the legendary Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, levied a holy and righteous war at the Devil, while Lucifer, produced by Kanye, took Romeo’s sentiments and expanded on them, finding uniqueness in simultaneously shunning the Devil while using him as a scapegoat at points. Lucifer included one of the earliest references (“Kanyeezy you did it again, you a genius, ni–a!”) to Kanye’s eventual reputation as a musical genius.
Jay Z‘s Encore (2003)
Sampled: I Will (1973) by John Holt
Kanye’s credits as a musical maverick were on full show in Encore, another song he produced from Jay Z’s The Black Album. The song features vocals from John Legend, Don Crawley and GLC, and it specifically sampled the opening trumpets to John Holt’s cover of The Beatles’ 1968 track, I Will. Looped over a fast-paced, Hip Hop beat, the trumpets which introduced the Reggae icon’s soulful and melody-rich cover, also served Jay Z’s interests as a marker that something regal was about to unfold. Encore was about acknowledging one’s greatness, and Kanye met that challenge with the easy decision to draw from the greatness of another.
Famous (2016)
Sampled: Bam Bam (1982) by Sister Nancy
This 2X Platinum hit from Kanye’s 2016 album, The Life of Pablo, signaled the artist’s exploration into what it’s truly like to be famous. The song features Rihanna singing the hook, and generously samples a number of tracks including arguably the most sampled Reggae song of all time, Bam Bam by Sister Nancy. The song is partly based on the Stalag Riddim, which was released in the 1970s by Winston Riley’s Techniques Records, who also produced Sister Nancy’s hit. Kanye makes use of the classic by looping Sister Nancy’s Bam Bam chant, as well as the trumpet arrangements on the Stalag Riddim, to serve as a bridge to the final performance of the chorus for Famous. Bam Bam, in the meantime, was last year certified Silver in the UK.
I Am A God (2013)
Sampled: Forward Inna Dem Clothes (2001) by Capleton
The original Reggae and Dancehall fireman, Capleton, found his track, Forward Inna Dem Clothes as the anchor to the opening of Kanye’s controversial tune, I Am A God. Sung on Harvel ‘Gadaffi’ Hart’s Heatwave Riddim, Forward Inna Dem Clothes celebrates modesty, particularly as it relates to Black women, and advocates for a more conservative approach to fashion. It rejects ‘worldliness’ – and that may explain its inclusion on this Kanye track, as the rapper not only rejects worldliness, but considers the extreme of that perspective – that he is, in fact, a god. Capleton’s spirited delivery gives I Am A God the righteous tone it craved against a fast-paced, almost Hip Hop EDM-like beat.
Send It Up (2013)
Sampled: Memories (1996) by Beenie Man
Sampling the intro and chorus of Beenie Man’s Memories, Kanye balances the scales between his showmanship arrogance and a slight desire to be introspective in Send It Up. The Dancehall King’s vocals can be heard in the intro of Send It Up, specifically his widely recognized laugh, which is followed by his words: “Reliving the past/Yuh lost”. As Kanye continues to rap about his life and success, the undertone is that the over-the-top experiences he mentions won’t come again, so he wishes to enjoy them as they are happening. That sentiment is perfectly encapsulated in the song’s ending – the chorus to Beenie’s Memories.
Good Night (2007)
Sampled: Nuff Man A Dead (1992) by Super Cat and Wake The Town by U-Roy
Kanye West’s Grammy-winning album, Graduation came filled with some of the rapper’s best songs to date, and Good Night, featuring Mos Def and Al Be Back, was one such. Sampling Super Cat’s Nuff Man A Dead over a mellow, medium-paced Hip Hop beat, West makes a grounded track rooted in his reluctance to say goodbye to some of the best things about his life. He opens and closes the heartfelt track with the chorus to Super Cat’s 1992 hit, which was produced by William Maragh for the Wild Apache record label.
Chief Keef’s I Don’t Like It (2013)
Sampled: Under Mi Sensi (1985) by Barrington Levy
Barrington Levy’s unique voice and ad-libs, specifically his iconic ‘Whoa-oh-oh” and “Ay”, are littered throughout this remix of Chief Keef’s Platinum-selling record, I Don’t Like. This remix, engineered by Kanye, features himself, Chief Keef, Big Sean, Pusha T, Jadakiss and Big Sean, over a brooding instrumental, which is broken up by Levy’s ad-libs serving as transitional cues between various pauses and verses throughout the track. Levi’s Under Mi Sensi, from which the vocals were pulled, was produced by Paul Love, more popularly known as Jah Screw.
The Morning (2012)
Sampled: I’m Getting Married In The Morning (1982) by Yellowman
Cruel Summer, the compilation album by Kanye West, featured several smashing collaborations during its day. The Morning, featuring heavy-hitters 2 Chainz, Pusha T, Kid Cudi, Raekwon, Common, D’Banj and Cyhi, not only sampled the 1982 classic by Yellowman, but may have even derived its name from the Henry ‘Junjo’ Lawes-produced track. D’Banj, the Nigerian singer who delivers The Morning’s chorus, follows Yellowman’s original melody to the letter, with mostly the lyrics accounting for much of the difference between the original and the sample.
Yellowman revealed in 2017 that the song’s refrain (I’m Getting Married) is taken from the movie, ‘My Fair Lady’, and that the track was, in some ways, an expression of his longing to know his family, particularly as a ward of the state who was once a member of the Alpha Boys’ Home.
All Day (2015)
Sampled: Dance With Me by Noel Ellis
Kanye’s Platinum-selling single, All Day uses the vocals of Noel Ellis from his 1983 classic, Dance With Me. Released in 2015, All Day was nominated at the 58th Grammy Awards for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance, and officially credits Noel Ellis as a songwriter. The single also features Paul McCartney, Allan Kingdom and Theophilus London, who vocalized parts of Dance With Me when Kanye premiered ‘All Day’ at the 2015 Brit Awards.