Semi-ambient hip-hop - Living Legends, "Never Fallin"

A Facebook friend shared a video, along with the comment

There's a special place in my heart for hip hop songs built on eno samples

But not just any Eno sample.

This sample comes from side 2 of "Before and After Science" - or the side that I call "After Science." Those who were around when vinyl records and cassettes were the norm know that albums of the day had two distinct sides - and on "Before and After Science," they are truly distinct. Side one closes with "King's Lead Hat," about a band that Eno liked with a lead singer who (in those days) truly WAS a burning building. But when you flipped the record or the tape over, the next song brings the tempo down a bit. But "Here He Comes" is only transitional, since the following songs bring the tempo down even more.

Until you reach "By This River."

Unlike "King's Lead Hat," "By This River" begins with the sparsest instrumentation imaginable - a single piano. And while the instrumentation builds up toward the end of the song, it remains a very simple song.



Well, how do you rap over a sample based upon THAT?

Speed it up a bit and add a drum beat.



The song "Never Fallin'" appears on the Living Legends album Classic.