The Samples that Changed How I Hear Music – A Curated Playlist

Headphone on a microphone stand, artwork in the background included a sign that says 'Let It Be'.

The Samples that Changed How I Hear Music

How samples, riffs, and interpolations opened up a whole new world of music for me.

The first CD I ever bought was Madonna’s 2006 album, Confessions on a Dancefloor. At the time, I just wanted to be as cool as Madonna in the Hung Up video. What 8-year-old didn’t want that iconic pink leotard and ‘70s curly blow-dry? The closest I got was picking up the CD at my local ASDA.

Little did I know, however, that this would become the catalyst for an obsession with samples, riffs, and interpolation – one that only really clicked a few years later when I discovered ABBA’s Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight), the very track Madonna had sampled in, you guessed it, Hung Up. The discovery opened my eyes (and ears) to music history in that moment. No longer was I the little kid glued to MTV on Fridays for the latest releases. I was digging into the archives, tracing how one track influenced another and uncovering the musicians who had inspired the ones I loved. Each day, I found a new artist to fall in love with. And the discoveries never stop.

A sample can reveal itself anywhere – tucked away in a bustling pub or hidden in the background while you’re doing the weekly shop at your local supermarket. Every new find sparks the same thrill: tracking down the original (or realising you already knew it all along) and marvelling at how it’s been transformed, often stumbling into an entirely new world of music you’d never explored before.

Over the years, following these connections has become a quiet obsession for me, giving me a real passion for music and shaping a well-rounded taste in genres – one I’m endlessly grateful for. All of this curiosity eventually led me to explore how artists borrow, riff, and reimagine songs, and the playlist below is a snapshot of the discoveries that still excite me today.

Samples, riffs, and interpolations – what’s the difference?

For years, I thought any song that borrowed from another track was simply a sample. Turns out…not quite. What most of us call a “sample” usually falls into three different camps: samples, riffs, and interpolations. They get mixed up constantly (guilty as charged), but there is a difference.

  1. Sample: when a track lifts part of an existing recording as-is and drops it into a new one. Example: Kanye West sampling Nina Simone’s Strange Fruit in Blood on the Leaves.
  2. Riff: a repeated musical phrase or hook that’s instantly recognisable and gets echoed or reused in another track. Example: Tom Misch taking the guitar groove from D’Angelo’s Lady and using it in South of the River.
  3. Interpolation: when an artist recreates or re-records a part of another song instead of using the original audio. Example: Amy Winehouse’s Tears Dry On Their Own, which reimagines the melody from Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.

That said, I’ve mostly used ‘samples’ as a catch-all term here (before any music nerds come for me – I promise, I’m one of you!). But, to make things clearer, there’s a note beside each track so you can see whether it’s a sample, riff, or interpolation.

The tracks that made me listen differently

Once you start spotting samples, it’s hard to stop. Most are fun to notice, but only a handful actually stick – and those are the ones that change the way you listen. They make you pause, rewind, or dive into an artist’s back catalogue to get to the nitty-gritty of their process. Every song I’ve selected for this playlist has done that for me, but these in particular sit above the rest.

School Spirit by Kanye West | Sample taken from Spirit In The Dark by Aretha Franklin

This is one I didn’t realise was a sample until years later. I’d long loved The College Dropout, and School Spirit had always been a favourite – despite its somewhat mixed reviews from Kanye fans. It wasn’t until I did a deep dive into Aretha Franklin’s discography for my Women in Music series that I noticed its similarities to Spirit In The Dark, from her album of the same name.

I found myself moving back and forth between the two tracks, marvelling at how Kanye had reimagined Aretha’s original. Of course, the Queen of Soul had inspired one of my all-time favourite Kanye songs – it all suddenly clicked. School Spirit was already a staple for me, but Spirit In The Dark quickly became a favourite of Aretha’s, too. That moment of recognition – realising how one song quietly inspired another – reminded me just how much fun you can have with sampling.

Dilemma by Nelly & Kelly Rowland, and GhettoMusick by Outkast | Samples taken from Love, Need and Want You by Patti LaBelle

Two samples in one. What a treat. Dilemma by Nelly and Kelly Rowland is a 2000s classic – probably a sample you already know. But the real excitement for me is that this lineup features two very different takes on the same Patti LaBelle track. Dilemma is smooth, soulful, and easy. GhettoMusick by Outkast? Frantic, electric, and almost jarring at first. Patti LaBelle’s vocals cut through the chaos in a way that could easily divide opinion – but for me, it works. Chaotic yet soulful, it doesn’t crash, it collides.

Listen for Yourself

Those tracks barely scratch the surface. The playlist below is a snapshot of the samples, riffs, and interpolations that have influenced how I listen. Hit play, and you might just stumble across a few favourites you didn’t know were inspired by something even older, or hear an old favourite in a completely new way.

Every sample, riff, or interpolation I’ve discovered has reshaped the way I hear music and reminded me that every track has a backstory. Whether you’re listening for the first time or revisiting an old favourite, there’s always something new to uncover. While these are the samples shaping the way I hear music now, who knows which ones will take the top spot in five, ten, or twenty years?

38 thoughts on “The Samples that Changed How I Hear Music – A Curated Playlist”

  3. This is such a unique idea! I love that you laid out the samples followed by music inspired by the samples in a list; that made it much easier for me to know what I was looking at scrolling the playlist. It is so interesting to see how singers and musicians have borrowed from their peers, yet they always manage to add their own personality to their music, even if the tunes are similar.
    Thanks so much for sharing this! 🙂

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  4. Oooh! It is always interesting to see someone’s take when they sample music. Saweetie sampled some of the 90’s hits and made it her own. I really like Ariana Grade’s 7 rings sampling. Giving her song a modern twist! Thanks for sharing your fave samples!!

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    1. I somehow completely forgot about Ariana Grande’s 7 Rings – a great sample! Thanks for sharing some of your favourite samples too 🙂 x

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  5. This is an amazing post!! I’m definitely going to listen to your playlist, I love the idea of listening to the sample and then the original!

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    1. Thank you so much! I think it’s such a fun way of listening to them – you can really pick out the samples when you’re listening back to back 🙂 x

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  9. Woah this is such an incredible post! I came across music samples a few years ago when owl city produced one! Thanks for sharing I’ll be listening to your playlist x

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  11. I was really looking forward to seeing what you picked for this! There were some that I was expecting in here, some I hadn’t thought of at all and some I’m gonna have to relisten to because I had no idea they had samples in them at all? Such a great mix of genres here as well, I love this idea for a post x

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    1. Ahh thank you so much! Oooh you’ll have to let me know which ones you didn’t know were sampled. Glad you enjoyed the playlist! x

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  12. This was so interesting, I didn’t know what sampling was until reading! You’ve shared some fab songs on your playlist too. I would never have guessed that Kayne would use Aretha Franklin in his music.

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  15. I hadn’t heard of this term before, but I certainly recognize it! I love how new music plays homage to older music ! Thanks for this insightful post!

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  16. Great post! Thank you for sharing this! As a big music fan as well, I found this really interesting! I like it when modern music uses sampling because it’s so cool! I have listened to a few of these songs from the playlist and I’ll check out some of the ones that I haven’t heard before.

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    1. Thank you so much! It’s really interesting to find those connections between modern and older music isn’t it? Hope you enjoy listening to the rest of the playlist 🙂 x

      Reply

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