Kendrick Lamar has always been very outspoken on who has influenced his music. Among those influences are Lil Wayne, Eminem, 2pac, Jay-Z, Eazy-E, and somewhat unexpectedly, the Isley Brothers. Lamar’s admiration for the Isley’s Brother might sound surprising, but thanks to his admiration for R&B and soul music, it isn’t. Matter of fact, Kendrick Lamar actually sampled an Isley Brothers hit for his song, “I.”
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Kendrick Lamar’s music is diverse and deep, hence, he pulls inspiration from every single nook and cranny of the world’s endless musical catalog. With that in mind, Lamar rightfully sampled the Isley Brothers’ classic funk tune, “That Lady.” Released in 1973, the Isley Brothers found loads of success with the single, as their song peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. Furthermore, and to this day, the song remains as one of the group’s most successful tracks.
Kendrick Lamar Rightfully Reuses The Isley Brothers’ “That Lady”
Released in 2015 on To Pimp a Butterfly, Lamar’s single found heaping loads of success. Upon its release, the song not only peaked at No. 39 on the Billboard Hot 100 but also reached the top of the charts in the UK, Canada, and Australia. Additionally, the song acted as Lamar’s fourth top 40 US hit and it helped the album win the Grammy for Best Rap Album of The Year. Though, none of these seemingly would have been possible if it wasn’t for Lamar’s rightful use of “That Lady.”
When listened to side-by-side, it is quite evident that Lamar legally lifted from the song. Particularly, it seems that Lamar used a couple of piano and guitar riffs from the song, as well as the general tempo and rhythm of it. Though, Lamar’s sampling of the song is not a regurgitated version of the original. Rather, Lamar uses the Isley Brothers’ hit to simply add some color and novelty to his already phenomenal song. Frankly, one could argue the songs don’t even sound the same.
Frankly, if it wasn’t for Kendrick Lamar’s creative use of “That Lady,” “I” would seemingly become just another hip-hop song to be brushed over by the masses. However, that is of course not the case, as the Isley Brothers and Kendrick Lamar made a piece of hip-hop and R&B gold. Other classic artists Lamar has sampled include, Al Green, Luther Vandross, Debbie Deb, Beach House, and Monk Higgins.
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