Of course, the method of sampling the artists use for these three tracks is very different from what Kanye West did for “Jesus Walks.” In sampling “Walk With Me,” Kanye appropriates so much of the song structure and the overall vibe of the original that “Jesus Walks” is a virtual cover version. This type of sampling was more prevalent years ago, before sampling became the strictly regulated and almost prohibitively expensive proposition that it is today.

Older records like Heavy D’s “Mr. Big Stuff,” Salt N Pepa’s “Get Up Everybody,” Eric B. & Rakim’s “I Know You Got Soul” and more recently, something like Coolio’s “Ghetto Paradise” were dead-ringers for the songs they sampled. (That would be Jean Knight’s “Mr. Big Stuff,” Parliament’s “Up For The Down Stroke” (vocals) and “All Your Goodies Are Gone” (rhythm), Bobby Byrd’s “I Know You Got Soul” and Stevie Wonder’s “Pastime Paradise,” respectively.)

One big clue that you’re listening to one of these sample and cover records is when the MC copies not only the rhythm and melodic hook of the original, but also the chorus. Often too, as is the case with all of my above examples, you’ll find that the ‘remake’ borrows part of the title of the original.

What Eric B. & Rakim, Jay-Z and Public Enemy do is something different. They sample one specific and brief portion of the original recording, then loop that small part to create a new instrumental track over which to rap. It’s a fairly basic idea, both in concept and execution. It’s been done for decades now and, as long as hip-hop exists, it will continue to be done.

The reasons this type of sampling has remained so popular for so long are numerous. First, looping provides the MC with something funky to rap over without those pesky problems of either: a) being drowned out by vocals and guitar solos and other foolishness (none of which any real hip-hop fan wants to hear anyway—we just want drums and loops), or b) having to secure the services of a band (who’d never be able to play the exact same groove for the required three to six minutes).

A second reason for the prevalence of loops is they provide the all-important aspect of atmosphere. I suppose producers could simply program basic (or complicated, for that matter) rhythms on drum machines or, they could even sample live drummers…and both techniques have been done. The Golden Age DJ and producer Mantronik specialized in the former and both Dr. Dre and Organized Noise are said to do quite a bit of the latter.

The problem with both drum machines and samples of live drummers is the lack of variance. Every song ends up sounding like the previous and the next. Loops provide a handy and effective way for the MC to add context, interest and atmosphere to his or her recording without actually remaking someone else’s record.

“In The Ghetto,” for example, uses a slightly muffled, but otherwise unchanged sample of the opening drum licks from “Kissing My Love” to create a sense of claustrophobia. The drum licks are densely repetitious—the sample becomes almost a metaphor for towering tenements and overcrowded spaces. Of course, nothing about Bill Withers’ record suggests that feeling—hence, the power of sampling. A producer or DJ can use a literal copy of a portion of someone else’s record, in this case, a drum lick, yet create something that gives the listener a vastly different feeling from the original.

Ski, the producer of Jay-Z’s track doesn’t create a different feeling as much as he makes able use of the feeling that’s already there. The guitar hook from the first half of “I Got The” has an epic, cinematic feel in the original, and by looping it, Ski effectively transfers that same feel to Jay’s ‘up from the streets’ narrative.

Public Enemy actually does something a little different. First, instead of keeping the tempo the same (as in the former two examples), they speed up the Meters’ hook to create the appropriate backdrop for Chuck’s driving, intense style. One other interesting, but subtle, thing they do is they make no attempt to clean up the audible static in the source record.

Instead of being a distraction, the static actually has a purpose—it’s the aural equivalent of glue, something which serves to hold together the sparse elements of the rest of the track. The entire track is made up of nothing but the Meters sample, a live drummer and Chuck and Flav’s voices. A mix like that leaves a lot of open space to be filled. The static does just that.

There’s a third reason that the loop remains such a popular form of sampling, and it might be the most important reason. That reason is, it’s just plain fun. There’s a bit of a homemade, karaoke aspect to looping that makes the listener feel like they’re part of some minor, but thrilling, heist job.

For hip-hop fans, it’s exciting to hear an MC use someone’s else record to tell a story, to make a point or to simply talk shit. A lot of hip-hop (including b-boying and graffiti, if you think about it) is about using ‘found’ things, things that may not actually be ‘yours’ to create something new of your own. Surely, this ethos can be traced back to the way hip-hop was born. It was created by inner-city kids who had no creative outlets: no music classes, no dance studios, no art instruction. They had to make something out of what little they did have.

I’ve heard it said, pejoratively, that hip-hop has made it this far despite its ‘dependence’ on sampling and its lack of ‘musicality.’ It’s more like hip-hop has made it this far, and will continue to make it, because of its use of sampling and its lack of musicality.

In truth, sampling—and looping in particular—has become its own reason for existence. The slightly jerky, ripped-from-reality feel that most loops have was initially due to technology limitations.

Today, of course, it’s possible to ‘fix’ these ‘problems.’ A producer could easily make a loop sound as clean as a live drummer. But generally speaking, hip-hop ears don’t want ‘clean’ or ‘perfect.’ Even before there was either analog or digital sampling machines, the DJ created a similar ‘lengthening the break’ effect with nothing but manual dexterity and two copies of the same record. Of course, no DJ, no matter how well-coordinated, could do it ‘perfectly.’