Behind the One-Hit Wonder That Helped Introduce Pianist Herbie Hancock to a Whole New Generation

Born on April 12, 1940, in Chicago, Illinois, Herbie Hancock grew up to become one of the greatest pianists in the history of modern music. The jazz artist played with everyone from Miles Davis to Stevie Wonder.

But not everyone is a fan of jazz music and not everyone knows its biggest names. That’s why some sonic cross-pollination can really come in handy when trying to create a long-lasting musical legacy. That’s just what we wanted to dive into here below.

Herbie’s Life & Achievements

The Chicago-born Hancock released his debut album, Takin’ Off, in 1962. From there, he released dozens more records, including his most recent, The Imagine Project, in 2010.

To date, the piano player has garnered an Academy Award in 1986 for Best Original Score for his work on the film Round Midnight. He has also amassed more than a dozen Grammy Awards, with his first coming in 1984 when he took home Best R&B Instrumental Performance for the LP, Rockit.

There are few artists more accomplished than Hancock and none more appreciated in his field. But still, that doesn’t mean a mainstream audience could pick him out of a lineup.

“Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)” by Us3 from ‘Hand On The Torch’ (1992)

Some 30 years after Hancock released his first-ever LP, the hip-hop group Us3 helped reignite Hancock’s reputation in a mainstream sense.

As was their style, the British jazz-rap fusion group took a sample of one of Hancock’s most famous songs, the 1964 offering “Cantaloupe Island”, and turned it into a fast-paced, uplifting rap track.

The result was the 1992 single “Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)”. The song took radio by storm. Just as rap music was entering a golden age in the 1990s, Us3 was there to help it along with the use of a Herbie Hancock sample.

Perhaps surprising everyone, including Hancock himself, the Us3 tune rocketed up the charts and became a top-10 smash, eventually hitting No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Lasting Legacy

Since its release, “Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)” has been certified gold for selling more than 500,000 copies. Not a bad day’s work for the British-born group. And for Hancock, himself, the song introduced the jazz pianist to a whole new generation of music fans.

That’s a win-win!

Photo by Josh Brasted/WireImage