June 29, 2009

Michael Jackson Inspired Kanye West, Jay-Z, Rihanna Hit Songs

By James Montgomery (MTV.com)

Some of the biggest acts in music today have built hits around MJ samples. Kanye West and T-Pain lifted "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" for their 2007 hit "Good Life." Rihanna's "Don't Stop the Music" took the beat from "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' " (which Jackson actually sampled from Cameroonian singer Manu Dibango's 1975 song "Soul Makossa") and MJ's famed whoops. Jay-Z's "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" samples the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back." And we're just getting started.

Public Enemy sampled Vincent Price's famous "Thriller" cackle on their seminal "911 (Is a Joke)." Nas' "It Ain't Hard to Tell" sampled "Human Nature." Tupac's "Letter 2 My Unborn" samples "Liberian Girl." Diddy sampled the J5's "Walk On" on his "All About the Benjamins" remix. Big Pun, Ghostface, Redman, Ludacris and Jennifer Lopez - all sampled at the altar of the King of Pop.

Electronic artists like Moby and the Prodigy got in on the act too. And the list goes on and on ... artists well-known and obscure, legendary and fleeting: They've all sampled Michael Jackson's songs. In fact, his musical DNA is so widespread that it necessitates sites like this and this just to document it. Jackson the man may be gone, but we're willing to bet that his music will live on - continuing to influence and inspire and build the songs of the 21st century.