2026 repress, originally released in 2008 - At least in its presentation, Droppin’ Science: Greatest Samples From the Blue Note Lab suggests yet another appeal to hip-hop genealogists, the kind of people who obsess over The-Breaks.com and are diligent readers of Oliver Wang’s blog. But this is not your run-of-the-mill “roots of rap” or “best breakbeats” compilation, and not just because you won’t find “Impeach the President” (which has been, according to The-Breaks, sampled in 116 different rap songs) or James Brown’s “Funky Drummer” (181 songs).
A few songs here have been tapped for use only once, and more than half of them bear relevance solely to the early-’90s conscious-rap movement and groups like De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest. The people who put together the compilation seem to be aware that the greatest samples often don’t come from the greatest songs—a fact often overlooked in the obsession over hip-hop’s antecedents. Quality and uniqueness, more than propensity to be sampled, seems to have driven the song selection.
In spite of its subtitle, then, Droppin’ Science offers more a snapshot of Blue Note history than a snapshot of hip-hop history. Once you get past the fact that the compilation doesn’t represent all of sampling culture, though, and you tune your ears away from just beat analysis and sample recognition, a great listen awaits. All of the cuts on the album originate from the late ’60s to the mid ’70s, a time when the distinctions between jazz and the rest of mainstream pop music were not nearly as delineated as they are today.
| A1 | Lou Donaldson - It's Your Thing |
| A2 | Ronnie Foster - Mystic Brew |
| A3 | Donald Byrd - Think Twice |
| B1 | David McCallum - The Edge |
| B2 | Brother Jack McDuff - Oblighetto |
| B3 | Joe Williams - Get Out Of My Life, Woman |
| B4 | Grant Green - Down Here On The Ground |
| C1 | Lonnie Smith - Spinnin’ Wheel |
| C2 | Jeremy Steig - Howling For Judy |
| C3 | Lou Donaldson - Who's Makin' Love (To Your Old Lady) |
| D1 | Ronnie Laws - Tidal Wave |
| D2 | Monk Higgins - Little Green Apples |
| D3 | Donald Byrd - Wind Parade |
