The Wedding Jam Blog
Memorable Stories from Unforgettable Weddings.
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Wedding Hip-Hop
Hip-hop isn't the most obvious genre to turn to at weddings, but dropping the original sample and mixing into the rap rammer is a great way of utilising hip-hop at any evening do. We've been there, done it, and worked it! Read on to find out more and for a selection of other hip-hop examples and samples that could work for you on your big night.
We get it - hip-hop doesn't exactly scream suitability for weddings. Despite it being arguably the world's dominant genre (nearly a quarter of all Spotify streams in 2023 were hip-hop tunes!), with a near all-pervading influence in contemporary culture, fashion and beyond, you'd be hard pressed to hear a great deal of hip-hop at weddings.
But it can work and does work. One of the long-standing foundations of hip-hop is, of course, sampling, and there's been several occasions over the years when we've deployed the original sample alongside the hip-hop track...and one occasion in particular stands out.
With a choreographed first dance to Marvin Gaye's 'You're All I Need To Get By', the couple and guests alike swooned along to its uber-romantic strains, before our DJ Paul dropped the bombshell by scratching his way into Method Man's 'All I Need', which heavily samples the Marvin classic. It worked a treat, making for a seamless transition from the intimacy of the first dance into hours and hours of bangers.
And so on that particular theme, we've selected six classic songs later sampled to glorious effect by hip-hop artists and paired them up. Let's go!
Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell - You're All I Need To Get By / Method Man ft Mary J Blige - All I Need
Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's Motown classic was written by the great Ashford & Simpson, and is one of the great romantic duets. Skilfully maintaining the duet vibe alongside vintage hip-hop heat, Wu-Tang legend Method Man joined forces with R&B star Mary J Blige to sample it to wonderful effect. The spirit of the original is right there, and it's one of the great hip-hop collabs.
Atlantic Starr - Always / MF DOOM - Dead Bent
Atlantic Starr are, for our money, one of the most overlooked r&b acts from the '80s, and this overwhelmingly romantic and gorgeous ballad hit no.1 in the US singles charts and no.3 in the UK. Somewhat incongruously, one of the all-time great crate-diggers and MCs, the legendary MF DOOM, sampled 'Always' on this absolute banger from his debut LP, 'Operation Doomsday', and what a stroke of genius. DOOM's incredible flow works together insanely well with typically smoking hot DOOM beats. You're the perfect one!
Michael McDonald - I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near) / Warren G ft Nate Dogg - Regulate
Yacht Rock king Michael McDonald was one of the smoothest dudes around, with his uniquely distinctive and instantly recognisable voice. Tracks don't get much smoother than this one, a fact that didn't escape Warren G's attention, who arguably and almost impossibly ramped up the smoothness for this '90s rap classic. What a vibe.
Joni Mitchell - Big Yellow Taxi / Janet Jackson - Got 'Til It's Gone
Two absolute queens here. Joni Mitchell always had an amazing sense of rhythm, often expressed through her fabulous guitar playing and oddball tunings. That sense of rhythm was re-worked magnificently by Janet Jackson, aided by Q-Tip, to become a huge worldwide hit in 1997 - and it still sounds seriously fresh today.
Bobby Caldwell - Open Your Eyes / Common - The Light
Bobby Caldwell made his name with pristine 70s r&b and blue-eyed soul, and although not exactly a household name his music has lived on having been sampled countless times by hip-hop artists including 2Pac, The Luniz, Erykah Badu and others. His 1980 gem 'Open Your Eyes' was expertly sampled 20 years later by producer extraordinaire J Dilla and rapper Common on 'The Light', and it has aged like a fine wine.
The Jackson 5 - Maybe Tomorrow / Ghostface Killah ft Mary J Blige - All That I Got Is You
Young Michael was on top of his game in this little gem but 'Maybe Tomorrow' isn't all about him - a rhythm section that is absolutely in the pocket, in typical Motown fashion, and supplemented by gorgeous harmonies, it is vintage Jackson 5. Ghostface Killah, if anything, dialled up the emotion, in tandem with collab queen Mary J Blige, in an extremely powerful and moving eulogy to his mother, honouring the way in which she raised him during acutely difficult times. Hip-hop has seldom been so touching.