If you were not born in 1995 when this shit came out, maybe you had the chance to have a brother like me to make you listen to those classic Hip Hop songs.

After the first hearing, I’ve been listening to it once a week since. Here’s a couple of things you need to know about Mobb Deep and their masterpiece Shook Ones.

It all began in 1992. After their signature on 4th & Broadway Records, DJ Premier makes Havoc and Prodigy rhyming on Cop Hell appearing on Doe In Advance B-side, a Gangstarr single.

The year after, the two youngsters from QueensBridge released their first album, Juvenile Hell, produced by Preemo and Large Professor. It’s a total commercial failure and they got fired of the label. Important point here: don’t trust the charts. The album is really good indeed: Locked In Spofford, Hit it From the Back, Peer Pressure are true examples of the quality of the duo back then.

But they got back on their feet very quickly. In 1994, they signed on Loud Records. They then part of a huge Hip-Hop family (Wu Tang, M.O.P, Big Pun, Xzibit, Bone Thugs N’ Harmony).

But before the part two came the part one. Shook Ones is their first single on the label. And finally started the recording of one of the best albums in Music history, The Infamous.

Every song needs a careful listening. The realistic and raw lyrics put on dark and rugged beats made the whole album iconic. Representative of the East Coast Hip-Hop, Mobb Deep placed themselves in the Pantheon of rappers with this unique work.

Havoc, whose dad was a DJ, took care of the production, helped by Q-Tip and Prodigy.

Havoc explains how the beat of Shook Ones Part II was about to be erased before his homies listened to it:

“I made that beat inside my mother’s house in Queensbridge. That house gave me a lot of inspiration because something could happen outside and I could go upstairs and make a beat. Like, I would have this feeling like, ‘Let me go upstairs and make a beat of how I’m feeling right now.’ So I just popped the sample up and I almost even erased it because I didn’t even really like it too much. At that time I was always in the house alone by myself making beats and sometimes if i didn’t have somebody to co-sign it I’d be like, ‘Fuck it, whatever.’ But then my friends were like, ‘Nah, this shit is fucking crazy.’ So I kept it. Thank God because we probably wouldn’t be here right now if I had erased that.”

Havoc remained the sample secret for years and it recently sorted out because everybody’s was dying to know what it was.

 “Given that ‘Shooks Ones Pt. II” is a classic record, it just brought the curiosity out like,’What fucking sample is that?’ And I’m not telling anybody what sample it was because I forgot what samples I used. But that is definitely the sample because I remembered when they brought it out. But that’s a secret between you and me. It’s good and it’s bad because I was reveling in the mystery of the sample, but if people wanted to know so bad then that just shows how much love people have for the track”

Speaking of sample, here’s the piano loop used. It’s hard to recognize at first. The original sample comes from Herbie Hancock, real famous jazz-pianist in his era. He experienced many musical genres such as funk, disco and soul. Pay attention from 0:03 to 0:09 and try to figure it out. It’s here somewhere.

The loop is pitched down a lot, the tempo is shifted, and some chords disappeared.

Herbie Hancock – Jessica (sample appears at 0:03)

Now comes the famous thriller intro. It’s taken from the 1971 movie, Dollars, directed by the American Richard Brooks. The soundtrack was realized by the great Quincy Jones, known for so many unbelievable tunes and for being Michael Jackson mentor.

Quincy Jones – Kitty with the Bent Frame (sample appears at 1:16)

And here’s the drum part. Nothing much to say about it, just some basic drum loop sampled on some unknown band. Well, unknown to me.

Daly-Wilson Big Band – Dirty Feet (sample appears at 0:01)

The long awaited track, along with the videoclip.

Mobb Deep – Shook Ones Part II

Source: http://www.complex.com