10 Best Rock Samples In Hip Hop

10. Otherside - Otherside (Macklemore Ft. Ryan Lewis)

This was a brilliant instance of a sample that not only fit a track musically but helped convey a theme, contributing not only melody but also meaning.

The original Red Hot Chili Peppers song, explored themes of substance abuse, the struggle of sobriety, the loss of loved ones and the other side of death. So, when Macklemore wrote the lyrics to his anti-substance abuse song, it was an obvious sample to go for.

The guitar part was consistent, repetitive and melancholic, lending itself to Macklemore's lyrical flow. But the sample brought with it all of those previous themes that it had been associated with when it was first released. Injecting those previously established drug warnings that Macklemore was mirroring in his own lyrics.

Expressing his concerns for young rappers and rap fans, who were getting into drugs as a means to conform to a hip-hop image, Macklemore's producer Ryan Lewis displayed his savviness in picking the most appropriate sample.

Macklemore hasn't always been taken as seriously as his contemporaries but he certainly knows how to tackle some heavy subject matters, and producer Ryan Lewis knows how to set the mood.