A seven-second burst of drumming from a 1969 funk track that went on to become one of the most sampled pieces of music in history.

This fascinating, brilliant 20-minute video narrates the history of the "Amen Break," a six-second drum sample from the b-side of a chart-topping single from 1969 by Gregory Cylvester "G. C." Coleman in the song "Amen, Brother" performed by the 1960s funk and soul outfit The Winstons. This sample was used extensively in early hip-hop such as Public Enemy’s “Bring the Noise” from their ferocious 1988 groundbreaker It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back to N.W.A.’s “Straight Outta Compton. It also became a staple of sample-based music, and became the basis for drum-and-bass and jungle music -- a six-second clip that spawned several entire subcultures. You'll even find a sample of the "Amen Break" made it's way into the theme song from the popular animated series "Futurama".

 

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