Future Past: Hip-Hop Classics Refreshed

It’s been 50 years of wild style since the birth of hip-hop, the music that came to life in the Bronx on a summer day in August, 1973. The music that found the mainstream in the 1980s, became a cultural flashpoint in the ‘90s, and conquered the globe in the 2000s has certainly come a long, long way from that first block party. But it also retains deep connections to its earlier days, with many of today’s artists paying homage by interpolating hip-hop’s foundational tracks into modern-day bangers.

Rising rapper Coi Leray recently refreshed Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five’s seminal “The Message” on the female empowerment anthem “Players.” We’ve seen Ice Spice and Lil Tjay nod to Diddy and Ginuwine, Nicki salute Lumidee, and so many more. They say the classics never go out of style, and hip-hop’s half-century of pop culture dominance surely bears that out. In honor of this landmark anniversary, we’ve put together a collection of SoundCloud tracks that tap into the earlier days of one of America’s greatest art forms.  

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LISTEN TO THE FUTURE PAST: HIP-HOP CLASSICS REFRESHED PLAYLIST NOW

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Coi Leray “Players” (2022) x Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five “The Message” (1982)

Coi Leray scored her biggest hit to date by reaching all the way back to the earliest days of mainstream hip-hop. “Players,” which features the memorable refrain “‘Cause girls is players too,” reimagines Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s groundbreaking “The Message,” which shook the world with its dire warning back in 1982. She’s a player for sure: Coi recently appeared on “Self Love” from Metro Boomin’s soundtrack to “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.”     

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Lola Brooke, “Just Relax” (2023) x Black Sheep, (1991) “The Choice Is Yours (Revisited)” 

Rapper Lola Brooke, who referenced fellow New Yorker 50 Cent on her 2023 single "So DISRESPECTFUL," dug even deeper when she looped legendary NY duo Black Sheep's '90s earworm “The Choice is Yours (Revisited)”, a song we dare you to get out of your head., In turn, that song sampled a Ron Carter bass solo from McCoy Tyner's legendary piano odyssey "Impressions." 

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Ice Spice and Lil Tjay, “Gangsta Boo”(2023)  x P. Diddy feat. Ginuwine, Loon, and Mario Winans, “I Need a Girl (Part 2)” (2002)

She’s been called “rap’s new princess.” Hailing from the Bronx, the epicenter of hip-hop culture, Isis Gaston took her stage name from a “finsta” account she created back when she was just 14. Following some viral success, she had her first big aboveground hit in early 2023 with “Gangsta Boo,” which recalls that bounce of Diddy’s “I Need A Girl (Pt. 2),” his iconic 2002 track. “Gangsta Boo” features a guest rap from Ice Spice’s neighborhood homie Lil Tjay.

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Central Cee, “Doja (2022)” x  Eve feat. Gwen Stefani, “Let Me Blow Ya Mind” (2001)

Cited by the New Yorker as "one of the most prominent ambassadors of the U.K.’s thriving drill scene," London's Central Cee raised the bar with a devious three-fold strategy of attack. Launching his initial salvo with perhaps one of last year's most memorable/eyebrow-raising opening lines, while aiming his affections at US hitmaker Doja Cat, and extending drill's penchant for sampling nostalgia, Cench secured a sample (cleared and co-signed by Eve) of Eve and Gwen Stefani’s bouncy 2001 smash, “Let Me Blow Your Mind.”

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BIA feat. Timbaland, ‘I'm That Bitch’ (2023) x  Missy Elliott, ‘She's a Bitch’ (1999)

On “She’s a Bitch,” the debut single from her second album, Missy Elliott pulled no punches when she called out a rival. But when Bia released her latest single, a collab with none other than Timbaland that heavily samples Missy’s track, she flipped the script: “I’m That Bitch,” she declared confidently. First recognized for her role on Oxygen’s reality show “Sisterhood of Hip Hop,” Bia has featured with J Balvin and recorded with J. Cole and Nicki Minaj. “I’m That Bitch” gives us a taste of her full-length debut album, which is on the way.  

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Lyrical Lemonade, Juice WRLD and Cordae, “Doomsday” (2023) x Eminem, “Role Model” (1999)

The late Juice WRLD, East Coast rapper Cordae and the multimedia company Lyrical Lemonade, unite on “Doomsday,” the lead single from their hotly anticipated upcoming debut album. “Doomsday” samples Eminem’s 1999 classic “Role Model” from “The Slim Shady LP.” It’s a full-circle thing for the legacy of Juice: His appearance on Em’s “Godzilla” in 2020 marked his first posthumous release. 

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Nicki Minaj, “Red Ruby Da Sleeze” (2023) x  Lumidee, “Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh)” (2003)   

It’s been two decades since the Diwali riddim took over the international dancefloor, led by Sean Paul’s “Get Busy.” The East Harlem singer Lumidee had a career-defining hit with the beat with “Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh).” Twenty years later, the unstoppable Nicki Minaj has put her own stamp on Diwali with “Red Ruby da Sleeze,” rapping over the exotic hand-clapping that exemplifies the style. Defiant as ever, Nicki introduces her new alter-ego with an alternate take on a dancehall classic. 

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Tyga, “Bops Goin Brazy” (2023) x  Vanilla Ice, “Ice Ice Baby” (1990)

And then there's Tyga's "Bops Going Brazy," an absurdly dope take on Vanilla Ice's 1990 blockbuster hit "Ice Ice Baby," which Tyga not only references not just instrumentally, but also lyrically (flow-etically?). Of course, everyone knows that Vanilla Ice sampled Queen and David Bowie's timeless track "Under Pressure," which was quite the conversation starter way -back when. But Tyga managed to flip a Vanilla Ice’s track and make it a modern "bop."

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Drake, “Middle of the Ocean” (2022) x The Diplomats, “Real N—-as”(2003)

A funny thing about rappers sampling rappers, as Drake has done, oh, a few times during his career, bringing renewed interest to everyone from Wu-Tang Clan to Dip Set, whom he sampled on his 21 Savage collab "Middle of the Ocean", is that there's usually an even deeper layer to consider. In this case, the O'Jays' "Cry Together” was the original sample source for the Diplomats' 2003 song "Real N—-as," and the O'Jays' song actually makes an appearance at the end of the Drake record. It's a rare example of a meta three-layer sample flip - Drake to Dips to O'Jays - all in the same song.

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Baby Keem “The Hillbillies”(2023) x Drake, “Sticky” (2022)

These two cousins toured together for months last year on Kendrick’s Big Steppers Tour. The time together clearly paid off; in May of this year they dropped the surprise track “The Hillbillies,” which features a relaxed vibe, a Bon Iver sample, and an overall nod to the club beat of Drake’s “Sticky.” The family connection brings out a looser, more laid-back version of Kendrick than we usually get. “Send it off from here right now,” Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon sings, ghostlike. “And free your mind.”    

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LISTEN TO THE FUTURE PAST: HIP-HOP CLASSICS REFRESHED PLAYLIST

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