Top 5: SA sample songs

24 Sep 2017 - 16:22

Sampling music is an art: find the hook of an old song and make a new one out of it. Sometimes what sounds like a fresh tune is a sample, with many listeners oblivious to where it came from. And sometimes some songs’ samples are sampled from sampled songs. Confusing? Good.

Makifizolo's 'Emlanjeni' used Miriam Makeba’s song of the same name.

There are many methods to sampling old music and integrating it into new tunes. On the one hand, producers opt to use old lyrics to give birth to entirely new musical compositions. On the other, producers use melodies, or whole musical movements, as the basis of a new song.

Here is a list of our top 5 South African hits that use parts of songs released before them.

Zulu Mobb – Comfort Me
Zulu Mobs ‘Comfort Me’ speaks about the everyday struggles that plague townships in South Africa, primarily focusing on the personal stories of the group’s two members. The song sampled Billy Preston and Syreeta Wright’s ‘With You I’m Born Again’, where the couple sings about how they are complete when together. Zulu Mobb samples the phrase “Comfort me through all this madness” as a call to God to protect them through the hardships.

Here's the original:

Makhendlas – Iminwe
‘Iminwe’ sampled Nightcrawlers’ electro dance hit ‘Push the Feeling On’. ‘Iminwe’ uses the instrumentation throughout the song. The song was recorded by Makhandlas, who committed suicide following a shooting at a music event he performed at.

Here's the original:

H20 – It’s Wonderful
'It’s Wonderful' is a classic South African rap song by the duo H2O featured on their 2003 debut album Amanzi’mtoti. The song is about embracing African pride and samples Ella Fitzgerald and Her Savoy Eight classic ‘It's Wonderful’ which was released in 1938.

Here's the original:

Mafikizolo – Emlanjeni
'Emlanjeni' (Meet Me at the River) is taken off Mafikizolo’s album Kwela released in 2005. In it, a couple chooses the river as a meeting point after the boyfriend returns from a trip. The song sampled Miriam Makeba’s 1978 song of the same name from the album Country Girl.

Here's the original:

Mandoza – 50/50
The song ‘50/50’ comes from the late Mandoza’s 2001 album Godoba. It speaks about people pulling their own weight and putting 50% into relationships. His song sampled Destiny’s Child’s 'Independent Women'. Mandoza’s hook in ‘50/50’ has the same melody as that of the American all-girl trio.