MUSIC A SAMPLE STORY THE AMEN BREAK

The Amen break is one of the most well-known samples, or breaks, in In the U.K., Carl Cox was one of music. This sample is predominantly used in jungle music but has been the first ones to see the potential sampled well over 2,000 times in many, many types of music such as of the Amen break for dance music hip-hop, hardcore, R’n’B to name a few. and used it in his early hardcore Salt ‘N’ Pepa was one of the first productions way back in 1990. • KAYLA GRAHAM & ALANNAH POHRAN hip-hop groups to use the sample, but certainly not the last. The famous break was featured on N.W.A’s “Straight Outta Compton” as the backbone of the entire track

Sometime in the ‘90s, IDM producers such as Squarepusher began to heavily manipulate the Amen break to make new sounds. The Amen break originates from The track was widely unknown the track “Amen Brother” by the until it emerged on a popular Winstons and was recorded in drum break compilation in 1969. The original track was a 1986 called Ultimate Breaks and Lennie De Ice is arguably the first B-side to the Grammy winning Beats – a compilation series that to have used the Amen break in The Amen break is considered to be the most used sample in track, “Colour Him Father.” became an early tool for hip-hop an early jungle track, the genre contemporary music. DJs and producers. of music the Amen break has become the most synonymous Sadly, Gregory C. Coleman, the drummer and creator of the Amen with. From that point, the sound Break died penniless and homeless in 2006. He never received began defining the jungle genre. royalties for the most popular sample in music. As the genre evolved into drum and bass, the Amen break stayed There is an ongoing gofundme campaign to compensate the rest prevalent in the sound. of The Winstons for the Amen Break. gofundme.com/amenbrother2

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