Think break

The Think break is a drum break that has been widely sampled in popular music. It comes from the 1972 song "Think (About It)" by the American soul singer Lyn Collins, written and produced by James Brown. The drum break was performed by John "Jabo" Starks.

Background and impact

In 1987, "Think (About It)" was featured on the 16th volume of the drum break compilation Ultimate Breaks & Beats, a highly popular series among hip hop producers. That year marked the first known use of the "Woo! Yeah!" break, when the Beatmasters, a British hip hop production trio, sampled the break for Cookie Crew's song "Females (Get On Up)". While "Females" was a minor hit in the UK, the break did not receive major airplay and attention until the following year, when it was used as the backing loop for the 1988 song "It Takes Two" by MC Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock. The song, which is almost entirely composed of sampled parts from "Think (About It)", became a platinum-selling hit.

It became almost ubiquitous in dance and hip hop records during the late 1980s and early 1990s and continues to see use.

In addition to the famous "Yeah! Woo!" sample, another part of the drum break has seen prominent use in songs of diverse breakbeat subgenres such as jungle, drum and bass and breakcore. The sample contains a short, ad-libbed shout by one of the musicians, and is usually played at a higher speed, giving the shout a very recognizable character.

See also

• Amen break
• Breakbeat
• Breakcore
• Ultimate Breaks and Beats

References

1. Amen break
2. Breakbeat
3. Point Break
4. Sampling (music)
5. Breaking Bad
6. Prison Break season 5
7. Prison Break season 1
8. Funky Drummer
9. Break key
10. Breakdancing
11. Quantum Break
12. Break Stuff
13. Think Think and Ah Tsai
14. Break-even (economics)
15. Think This
16. Break (music)
17. Day Break
18. Groupthink
19. Break-up of the Beatles
20. Breakup