Even if you’ve never heard The Incredible Bongo Band‘s “Apache” in full, there’s no doubt you’ve danced at some point in your life to the many songs that have lifted and sampled the percussion from the track. Ranging from Grandmaster Flash‘s “The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel,” Nas‘ “Made You Look,” Amy Winehouse‘s “Apache,” C+C Music Factory‘s “Things That Make You Go Hmmm…” and much more, the song has for decades been a resource for artists looking to add some vintage groove. But it all started with one man: DJ Kool Herc.
He not only first dug up the obscure track, but he got crowds moving by extending the drum break into an extended jam that people could dance to. And that’s chronicled in this exclusive clip from “Sample This,” a new documentary that explores the roots of the song and how it led to helping revolutionize one of the most important musical genres in history.
Narrated by Gene Simmons, and featuring Questlove, Ahmir Khalib Thompson, King Errisson, Jerry Butler, Freda Payne, Grandmaster Caz, Melle Mel, Roosevelt Grier, Afrika Bambaataa and more, this one music-heads will want to order up when “Sample This” lands on VOD and in limited release starting on September 13th. Watch the clip below.
The interview with Kool Herc has been lifted from the first episode of 3 part Channel 4 series The Hip Hop Years which was broadcast in 1999.
An excellent show in it's own right which is well worth watching.