PhillyPOP #13 | Copycats pt. 1: The Art and Controversy of Sampling

This event is all about samples--where they come from, how they're used, and who does it best. Submit originals and songs that reuse them.
About this Event

WHAT IS PHILLYPOP? PhillyPOP is a meetup group for discussing popular music–it’s like a book club for playlists. Every month we listen to a playlist, then we meet in person to talk about it. Each playlist has a theme, and attendees are encouraged (but not required) to contribute songs that fit the theme as they understand it. It's a great way to connect with local music superfans and hear stuff you wouldn't have otherwise. You can find more info about us on our profile page, where you can also follow us to be notified about future events. (There's also a checkbox marked "Keep me updated on more events and news from this event organizer" when you RSVP, but I recommend following the profile page instead, which will email you every time I schedule a new event.)

NEXT EVENT: In music, sampling is defined as the process of extracting a segment, or "sample", of audio from one recording and incorporating it into a new recording. While samples had been used on a handful of avant-garde records in the 70s, they began to infiltrate the mainstream in the mid to late 80s, when reasonably-priced digital sampling equipment first hit the market and changed the rap game--and later the pop game--forever. As an 80s baby myself, I still think of sampling as mostly a hip-hop thing, but our starter playlist demonstrates how the practice has shaped a wide range of genres. Some widely-recognized samples seem designed to reference their source material directly, while others are heavily processed and rearranged to the point that their origins are nearly impossible to determine without consulting the credits. Either way, sampling is so widespread today that we sometimes forget it was quite controversial back in the day, in part because of the many lawsuits filed by the original artists over royalty payments in the late 80s and early 90s.

For those planning on submitting songs for the playlist, I'm gonna be a little stricter than usual. Each submission must contain at least one sample source and one track containing a sample from it. You can do this by pairing origin and sampled tracks one-to-one, as I do with most of the starter songs, or you can include a single origin track and multiple songs that have sampled it (e.g. "Amen Brother" [1969], sampled by NWA [1988] and the Futurama theme song [1999]), or a single song containing multiple samples alongside the different original tracks it has sampled (e.g. Fatboy Slim's "Praise You" [1998] which contains samples from ten different songs, including Camille Yarbrough's "Take Yo' Praise" [1975]). Everyone gets ten slots total (e.g. five song pairs), so use them wisely. I recommend browsing the engrossing sampling archive Whosampled.com for a little inspiration if you need some.

One last point of clarification: mind the difference between samples and interpolations. Remember, sampling directly extracts audio from an original recording, while the closely related practice of interpolation actually re-performs part of an earlier song in a new one. The Fugees' 1996 hit "Ready or Not" does both: its instrumental samples Enya's haunting "Boadicea" (1987), but Lauryn Hill's hook interpolates the Delfonics' "Ready or Not Here I Come" (1969). This round is all about samples, so save all interpolations for part 2 (coming soon...) Read more on the difference between the two here.

Send up to ten sample-related tracks following the above instructions to [email protected] or use the "Contact" button below and I'll add them ASAP.

FUTURE EVENTS:

• August 2026 -> PhillyPOP Decades: The 80s Revisited (Again?)
• September 2026 -> TBA

ABOUT YOUR HOST:

Hello everyone, I'm Deen, a 40something Black husband and father living in West Philly. Despite being an introvert, I enjoy talking about music so much I'm willing to do it with complete strangers. Of course, after folks drop by two or three times they're not strangers anymore...

WANT TO HOST A PHILLYPOP CONVERSATION?

Got a great idea for a musical topic you'd like to discuss? You should host your own PhillyPOP conversation! Just follow these four steps:

1. Attend at least one event hosted by someone else
2. Email your theme idea to [email protected]
3. Create a starter playlist with 20-30 songs demonstrating your theme
4. Set an event date

I'll handle the venue reservations, promo, and Eventbrite logistics--all you have to do is show up and lead the discussion.