10 Perfect Hip Hop Music Samples Of Classic Rock Songs
2. The Pharcyde's Passin' Me By - Are You Experienced? (The Jimi Hendrix Experience)
When you're looking to kick back to some slick '90s hip-hop, there aren't many artists as laidback as alternative rap group the Pharcyde. Heavily influenced by jazz - with smooth bass lines, hints of trumpets and plenty of hi-hat - these guys are perfect for reclining to on summers day.
Their 1993 track "Passin' Me By" is undoubtably their biggest number. Recounting youthful romance and the regret of lost love, it's a nostalgia trip straight to the Golden Age of hip hop. Producer J-Swift delicately interwove Quincy Jones' "Summer in the City" with Jimi Hendrix's "Are You Experienced". It's a subtle use of the iconic rock track, sampling only a few seconds of a signature Hendrix guitar technique. "Are You Experienced" opens up with a muted guitar 'chucka-chucka', played in reverse to create the psychedelic ambience that was indicative of the '60s sound.
J-Swift used it to impart the hip hop classic with a carefree and dreamlike ambience, looping the sample and weaving it throughout the length of the track.