Kanye West's 10 Greatest Samples Of All-Time
9. Bound - Ponderosa Twins Plus One
Much like Quentin Tarantino and films, West is often praised for his seemingly encyclopedic knowledge of every song ever released.
This praise was certainly proved to be deserved by his choice to sample the Ponderosa Twins Plus One for the final track of 2013’s Yeezus, Bound 2.
The use of such an obscure song is characteristic of West and provides an intriguing insight into his expansive knowledge of classic soul music.
The original track, released in 1971, featured on the band's first and only album 2 + 2 + 1 = Ponderosa Twins Plus One and peaked at number 47 on Best Selling Soul Singles chart.
Despite the sample use bringing renewed attention to a long-forgotten track, the band's former lead singer Ricky Spicer filed a copyright lawsuit against West for his use of the song which was later settled for an undisclosed sum.
Similarly to many other songs sampled by West, this increased attention has led to a string of other artists following his lead and re-purposing the soul classic, most notably US rapper Tyler, The Creator used a similar sample on THE BOY IS A GUN for his 2019 album Igor.