Educate Your Ears With Futuronostro's Epic "Sims Samples" Hip-Hop Mixtape
A mixtape can serve any number of purposes. Some are ideal for kicking back with friends, others are club bangers and some become entirely new pieces of art in their own right. But there's another type of mixtape deserves its due--the hip-hop history lessen set that pairs vintage 20th century material with the songs that eventually sampled them to great success.
One such tape has made its way to the offices of Okayplayer--and it's magnificent. Futuronostro--a sonic portmanteau of French imprint Cosmonostro and DJ collective NOw FUTUR (also French)--have delivered a new(ish) tape that blends past and present with a keen sense of selection and a foremost emphasis on groove. "Sims Samples" is an hour and a half of hip-hop classics from the likes of A Tribe Called Quest, Wu Tang Clan, Dr. Dre, Jaylib, Mobb Deep and more, cut with the song(s) that made each one possible in the first place. It's like a multi-generational rap production family reunion where everyone's legit, digging the funky scene.
And so rather than keep this one all to ourselves for the next Mixtape Monday, Okayplayer deems it 100% necessary that you pause your plans and take this one for a spin. The Frenchmen have put in copious work to highlight the art of the sample, and minute after minute the mixtape delivers the sonic goods. Listen to the full set below and scroll down for a complete tracklist. Happy #MixtapeThursday, y'all.
Tracklist:
DONALD BYRD - Places And Spaces
PETE ROCK & CL SMOOTH - All The PLaces
MINNIE RIPPERTON - Inside My Love
A TRIBE CALLED QUEST - Lyrics To Go
DAVEY DEX - Get On Down
WU-TANG CLAN - Method Man
PATRICE RUSHEN - Settle For My Love
SHYHEIM - Shaolin Style
DONNY HATTAWAY - Little Ghetto Boy
DR.DRE Feat SNOOP DOGG - Lil’Ghetto Boy
THE MAIN INGREDIENT - Summer Breeze
NOTORIOUS BIG - Things Done Changed
HOWARD ROBERTS - Dirty Old Bossa Nova
A TRIBE CALLED QUEST - Jam
DEBARGE - I Like It
GRAND PUBA - I Like It
GEORGE BENSON - Face It Boy, It’s Over
ED O.G & Da BULLDOGS - Love Comes & Goes
AHMAD JAMAL TRIO - Dolphin Dance
COMMON - Resurection
THE FIVE STAIRSTEPS - Danger ! She’s A Stranger
OUTKAST - Two Dope Boyz In A Cadillac
GWEN MCCRAE - Rockin Chair
BLAZHAY BLAZHAY - Danger
JERU THE DAMAJA - Come Clean
SAM & DAVE - Rich Kind Of Poverty
ONYX - Slam
THE MOHAWKS - The Champ
LOU REED - Walking On The Wild Side
A TRIBE CALLED QUEST - Can I Kick It
DOROTHY ASHBY - Canto De Ossanha
PHIFE DAWG - Ben Dova
TRACY CHAPMAN - Fast Car
NICE & SMOOTH - Sometimes I Rhyme Slow
SYL JOHNSON - Different Strokes
WU-TANG CLAN - Shame On A Nigga
THELONIOUS MONK - Black And Tan Fantasy
DONALD BYRD - Wind Parade
BLACK MOON - Buck Em Down
ISLEY BROTHERS - Make Me Say It Again Girl
NAUGHTY BY NATURE - Hip Hop Hooray
ERNIE HINES - Our Generation
PETE ROCK & CL SMOOTH - Straighten It Out
JEAN PLUM - Here I Go Again
MOBB DEEP - Win Or Lose
AL KOOPER - Love Theme
ALCHEMIST - Hold U Down
JERRY BUTLER - I M Your Mechanical Man
METHOD MAN - Bring The Pain
NINJA MAN - Test The High Power
BARRINGTON LEVY - Black Roses
PACEWON - Any Champion
CRIS WILLIAMSON - Shine On Straight Arrow
JAYLIB - The Red
CATALYST - Uzuri
FAB 5 - Leflaur Leflah Eshkoshka
GEORGE BENSON - Face It Boy, It’s Over
PETE ROCK & CL SMOOTH - I Get Physical
STAN GETZ, LUIZ BONFA - Saudade Vem Correndo
PHARCYDE - Runnin’
MICHAEL JACKSON - Human Nature
NAS - It Ain’t Hard To Tell
KOOL & THE GANG - N.T Parts 1&2
BLACKBYRDS - Mysterious Vibes
PARIS - Days Of Old
GRAND FUNK RAILROAD - Nothing The Same
MASTA ACE - Music Man
SKULL SNAPS - It’s a New Day
TOWER OF POWER - Sparkling In The Sand
DIAMOND D - Sally Got a One Track Mind
ROGER - You Should Be Mine
EPMD - Crossover
CAL TJADER - Never My Love