THE ELEVEN: Best Hip-Hop Samples

Hip-Hop wouldn't be hip-hop if the artists didn't steal music from other musicians rework it and then try to pass it off as their own. Hey, I'm not knocking them. If it works...all the power to them. But that is hip-hop. Sure, not everyone steals (oh, I'm sorry I mean "samples"). But then again, their albums suck. Sampling is an art form. Seriously. You can't just pick any song and start rapping over it. You ever hear rappers sampling artists like Ministry, GWAR, or Barry Manilow? Of course not, and there's reason for that. Sometimes a great sample can catapult an artist from obscurity to superstardom. Othertimes, it can make or break a producer's career. Look at Puff Daddy, I mean Sean Combs, I mean...P. Diddy. Or is it now Diddy? Who cares?

Here are the best samples:

1. Who Am I? – Snoop Dogg (Atomic Dog by George Clinton)
2. Hard Knock Life – Jay-Z (It’s A Hard Knock Life – Cast of Annie)
3. U Can’t Touch This – M.C. Hammer (Super Freak – Rick James)
4. Diamonds Are Forever – Kayne West (Diamonds Are Forever – Shirley Bassey)
5. I’ll Be Missing You – Puff Daddy (Every Breath You Take - The Police)
6. Stan – Eminem (Thank You - Dido)
7. Set Adrift on Memory Bliss – PM Dawn (True – Spandau Ballet)
8. Ice Ice Baby – Vanilla Ice (Under Pressure – David Bowie and Queen )
9. O.P.P. – Naughty By Nature (ABC – The Jackson 5)
10. Bop Gun – Ice Cube (One Nation Under A Groove – Parliament Funkadelic)
11. He Got Game – Public Enemy (For What It’s Worth – Buffalo Springfield)

Almost made the list...but worth a listen...

1. NaS - New World - (Africa - Toto)