Sample: The Dramatics “It Aint Rainin’” (1980)įor as much as we credit Kanye for pioneering the heartful side of chipmunk soul with pristine production on “This Can’t Be Life” and “Never Change,” it’s fair to argue that Just Blaze perfected it.

Fully aware of Santana’s potential star power, the crew gifted him a solo spot on the third track, “Who I Am.” Of course, his performance would be nothing without the Heatmakerz, whose brilliant flip of the O’Jays’ “Who Am I” set the stage for Santana’s career-cementing tearjerker, where he puts aside his tough-guy persona and spits straight from the heart. And yet, Santana wouldn’t escape Cam’s shadow until the Diplomats released their debut album, Diplomatic Immunity, at the top of 2003. The Diplomats - “Who I Am”Ĭam’ron’s debut on Roc-A-Fella introduced Juelz Santana as a superstar-in-waiting, with the Dipset underboss offering up scene-stealing guest verses on a pair of chart-topping singles (“Oh Boy” and “Hey Ma”) and posse cuts (“Come Home With Me” and “Welcome to New York City”) off Come Home With Me.

In hindsight, it foreshadowed the sweeping soul samples that would define the soundscape on JAY-Z’s The Blueprint, due out later that year. Over a gorgeous Just Blaze flip of Creative Source’s “I Just Can’t See Myself Without You,” Freeway out-rapped the GOAT and Roc veteran Beans, further solidifying the fact that everything Blaze touched in the early-’00s turned to gold.Īfter lacing Beanie Sigel with a career-making beat that became the title track on his debut album The Truth, Kanye one-upped himself on Beans’ sophomore LP with “Nothing Like It.” Built around a sample of one of the most underrated R&B cuts of all-time, “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing” serves as the backdrop for the opening track to 2001’s The Reason. Released in September 2002, just as Cam’ron began operating at the peak of his powers thanks to chart-topping singles “Oh Boy” and “Hey Ma,” “What We Do” put the rest of hip-hop on notice: Freeway was the latest Roc-A-Fella superstar. Still, there’s no denying that Freeway’s debut is an essential hip-hop project, if not a classic from the first half of the ‘00s, as evidenced by the album’s first single, “What We Do.” Sample: Creative Source “I Just Can’t See Myself Without You” (1974)įreeway’s debut Philadelphia Freeway is the forgotten LP from Roc-A-Fella’s heyday, largely because its release, in February 2003, was overshadowed by the hype surrounding forthcoming albums from The Diplomats (whose Diplomatic Immunity dropped one month later) and JAY-Z (whose retirement LP, The Black Album, was scheduled to arrive by the end of the year). Honorable Mentions: “Soon You’ll Understand” (JAY-Z, The Dynasty), “Dead or Alive” (Cam’ron, Come Home With Me), “Some How Some Way” (JAY-Z, The Blueprint 2), “More Than Music” & “This Is What I Do” (The Diplomats, Diplomatic Immunity), “Hear the Song” (Freeway, Philadelphia Freeway), “One Day I Smile” (Juelz Santana, From Me to U), “School Spirit” (Kanye West, The College Dropout), and “End of the Road” (Jim Jones, On My Way to Church).Ģ4. And don't worry, we made a Spotify playlist, too. Without further ado, here are the 25 greatest chipmunk soul beats from the Roc-A-Fella dynasty. Finally, keep in mind that an endless array of timeless beats that aren’t chipmunk soul were removed from contention, including: a handful of Just Blaze offerings (Cam’ron’s “The Roc” and “Welcome to New York City,” Freeway’s “Alright” and “Flipside,” State Property’s “Roc the Mic,” JAY-Z’s “Intro,” “Streets Is Talking,” “December 4th,” and “PSA”) along with some of Kanye’s best work (JAY-Z’s “Takeover,” “‘03 Bonnie & Clyde,” “Encore,” and “Lucifer,” as well as The College Dropout’s “All Falls Down” and “Jesus Walks”).

Chipmunk basic sound example