Top 10 Songs That Use Samples

The Top Ten
Hung Up - Madonna

The music is based on ABBA's "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)." Madonna personally wrote to ABBA members Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson to get their permission to use the sample. This was the second time ABBA had granted such a request.

Bjorn Ulvaeus explained to the Sunday Telegraph how they granted permission to the Queen of Pop: "Madonna wrote a very, very nice letter saying please, please, we have had a wonderful idea which involves Gimme Gimme. We said we would have to listen to it first, but after half a minute, I knew it was brilliant. That is one of the few we have allowed..."

Gangsta's Paradise - Coolio

The chorus samples "Pastime Paradise" by Stevie Wonder.

Hips Don't Lie - Shakira

The intro comes from the song "Amores Como El Nuestro" by Jerry Rivera. The trumpet flourish was taken from the song "Deja Vu (Uptown Baby)" by Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz.

This song was the most-played pop song in a single week in American radio history. It was played 9,637 times in the week ending June 2, 2006. This was the top-selling single in the world during the 2000s.

Anaconda - Nicki Minaj

It directly sampled Baby Got Back by Sir Mix-A-Lot, which itself sampled Technicolor by Channel 1.

Stan - Eminem
On the Floor - Jennifer Lopez

The song incorporates a sample of the 1989 hit single "Lambada" by Kaoma. Jennifer and Pitbull made it look unique in its own way. "On the Floor" became a huge international hit. Thanks to them, younger people know who Kaoma is.

Lambada became popular thanks to them.

Gold Digger - Kanye West

He directly sampled the vocals and lyrics from I Got a Woman by Ray Charles (which was his biggest hit). Ray Charles was way better than Kanye West will ever be.

Gold Digger also interpolated the lyrics from Another Story to Tell by Mass and directly sampled the lyrics from Bumpin' Bus Stop by Thunder and Lightning. R.I.P. Ray Charles.

Cheers (Drink to That) - Rihanna

It directly sampled I'm With You by Avril Lavigne.

Run the World (Girls) - Beyonce
No Love - Eminem

The Newcomers

? It's Tricky - Run DMC
? Ghetto Supastar (That is What You Are) - Pras
The Contenders
Sing for the Moment - Eminem

Cool, I heard this song today on the radio. It samples Dream On by Aerosmith.

Whatcha Say - Jason Derulo

Directly sampled the vocals and lyrics from Hide & Seek by one-hit wonder Imogen Heap and became his greatest hit.

U Can't Touch This - MC Hammer

The music is based on "Super Freak" by Rick James. That song was a hit in 1981, so many younger listeners did not know the beat was sampled.

We Will Rock You - Queen
Wind It Up - Gwen Stefani

This song uses a sample of "The Lonely Goatherd" from the musical The Sound of Music. Gwen Stefani says in the Daily Mail on September 28, 2007: "You can only do a song like this if you don't care what people think. I grew up with that film, and I cried when I heard the finished song."

By the way, Gwen's track is awesome - should have been much bigger.

Stronger - Kanye West
Don't Stop the Music - Rihanna

It directly sampled the vocals and lyrics from Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' by Michael Jackson, which interpolated Soul Makossa by Manu Dibango (one of disco's godfathers). R.I.P. to two truly talented pioneers and legends.

Return to Innocence - Enigma

The song's drum beat was sampled from the Led Zeppelin song "When the Levee Breaks." The song was used to promote several types of media in the mid-1990s, including being used in a television commercial to advertise the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Very beautiful track.

Call on Me - Eric Prydz

It interpolated Valerie by Steve Winwood and became his biggest hit.

Don’t Stop the Party - Pitbull

It directly sampled multiple elements from Funky Vodka by TJR (who was also featured in Pitbull's track), and that directly sampled Funky Kingston by Toots and the Maytals.

R.I.P. to the leader and vocalist of the Jamaican band (and without a doubt the biggest artist in reggae after Bob Marley), Toots Hibbert (1942-2020).

The Power - Snap!

"The Power" was a massive hit, and it was based on the rap from Chill Rob G's "Let the Words Flow" and a sample of disco singer Jocelyn Brown's song "Love's Gonna Get You," which is where the "I've got the power" line comes from.

"The Power" is one of the most memorable hits from the '90s.

Gimme Some More - Busta Rhymes
I Like It - Enrique Iglesias

Interpolated the lyrics from All Night Long by Lionel Richie and became his greatest hit (and one of Pitbull's too).

Take Me As I Am - Mary J. Blige

This samples "Garden Of Peace," a 1979 song by Lonnie Liston Smith. Both songs are great.

Ice Ice Baby - Vanilla Ice

This samples the 1980 song "Under Pressure" by Queen and David Bowie. When this became a hit, it made "Under Pressure" more popular, as a lot of kids now recognized the tune.

When Queen released their compilation album Classic Queen in 1992, they wrote in the liner notes: "In 1990 the bass and piano featured again on Vanilla Ice's number one single Ice Ice Baby."

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