Qué pasa people, qué pasa... hit me! You all know these first words that the Godfather of Soul shouts out with high energy at the beginning of his rocking "Get on the Good Foot" tune. 
Along with "Funky Drummer", "Funky President", "The Payback", "Escape-ism" and all the other well known JB, JB produced and JB related funk classics (like joints of the JB's, Fred Wesley, Bobby Byrd, Lyn Collins, Dee Felice Trio, Marva Whitney, Myra Barnes etc.) "Get on the Good Foot" has been sampled countless times by many hip hop artists. Some producers maybe used only the vocals "Qué pasa people, qué pasa... hit me!" (e.g. B.M.W. "Get A Lil’ Stupid") or just "Hit me!" (e.g. Lazy Laz "Mystery") or small passages of the tune, others made heavy use of it. And it's no surprise either - this is such an amazing tune and one of James Brown's best in my opinion. The drums, the horns, the breaks within the song and James Brown's raw and croaking voice – all parts fit together like a funky jigsaw puzzle and make this a monster of a funk tune.
As a lover of that good old hip hop music, it's a natural fact that I love sample-based beats. So the essential question is: Ain't it all about digging deep to discover the ingredients for a dope beat? And the answer: Of course it is. It's always great to find some dope intros, drums, bass lines, flutes, stabs, piano strings etc. on records of all genres, and of all prices. Whether it's an unknown record or a record that already attracted attention amongst deep-digging beat-smiths, there are so many details and subtleties on a record just asking to get sampled! Just open your ears and listen very closely...
As already mentioned before "Get on the Good Foot" was sampled many times by many hip hop artists. Google it and several breaks databases make it very easy to find a list with artists who sampled this tune, but there are many missing – especially rare and independently released records are not taken into consideration. You won’t find artists like Zee Rocks The Copy ("The Getdown Is Funky"), Top Choice Clique ("You Can't Deal"), Prince Quick Mix & Derrick Dee ("Good Foot"), V.I.C.E. ("Talk That Talk"), Mac 10 ("Soul On A Roll") or D. Moet & X-Calibur ("Good Foot") on any of those lists. I've tried my best to compile a list of artists/producers who sampled "Get on the Good Foot" – and I came to a result of 37!
Check the Prince Quick Mix & Derrick Dee soundclip below to hear some great "Good Foot" sampling work.
Let's pick out and talk about one obscure random rap record that uses "Get on the Good Foot" to great effect:
D. Moet & X-Calibur "Everything I Own" (EMF Records 1988)
This is a very dope 3-track 12", entirely produced with a SP-12 by D. Moet (that's what he told me). You already might have come across the name D. Moet (see picture) in the world of hip hop.
His real name is Anthony Moody and this certain A. Moody has become a very successful producer over the years. Especially the late 90's were Moody’s time to shine. Did you know he produced Nas Escobar’s hit single "Hate Me Now"?Hailing from Teaneck, New Jersey, Moody's first appearance as a producer is dated back in '87, when he and King Sun formed the duo King Sun-D Moet to release the "Hey Love / Mythological Rapper" 12" on the legendary Zakia label. He was also involved in producing a few other joints in the 80's as well, but nothing that needs to be mentioned necessarily – except the two 12"s that EMF Records was putting out in the late 80s.
I believe that this small Teaneck, NJ based label was run by D-Moet and his brother (?) Michael, but no confirmation on the part of D-Moet yet. While Michael was "only" the executive producer on both EMF releases, A. Moody was handling the production and scratching. The other amazing record on EMF I'm talking about is the excellent R.C. Nucleus "Predator" 12". Just like the D. Moet & X-Calibur 12" this is a much sought after record amongst random rap collectors worldwide.While "Everything I Own" got a kinda corny touch, it's "Good Foot" and "Dance To Excalibur" that make the D. Moet & X-Calibur 12" a must have for everyone who loves late 80's sample based hip hop. "Good Foot" starts with some nice scratching courtesy of D-Moet, and then the dope sample based beat kicks in. Check the soundclip below.
Back to James Brown. Without doubt, he's the most sampled artist generally – Marley Marl, Pete Rock, Paul C, Large Pro, EPMD, DJ Premier, 45 King, Tony D, Lord Finesse etc. – do you think you'll find a top-notch serious producer who never used a James Brown sample? No. So what would hip hop be without James Brown? Nothing.
Some "Get on the Good Foot" facts. "Good Foot" was a dance created in the early 70's and – as the name already reveals – focused on foot work when dancing. You can watch James Brown doing the "Good Foot" whenever he was on stage. To pay homage to this dance style he released the tune "Get on the Good Foot" and an album of the same name in 1972. "Get on the Good Foot" was also one of the first tunes that got cut up by Bronx legend Kool Herc to get the crowd rocking.
In 2003 James Brown told the Associated Press: "Disco is James Brown, hip hop is James Brown, rap is James Brown; you know what I'm saying? You hear all the rappers, 90 percent of their music is me!"
And he was damn right.
James Brown R.I.P.
Benny aka ABWS
