Impeach the President
| "Impeach the President" | |
|---|---|
| Single by The Honey Drippers | |
| B-side | "Roy C's Theme Song" |
| Released | June 1, 1973[1][2] |
| Genre | Funk |
| Length | 3:17 |
| Label | Alaga Records, Tuff City Records |
| Songwriter(s) | Roy Charles Hammond |
| Producer(s) | Roy C |
"Impeach the President" is a song by funk band the Honey Drippers, written and produced by Roy Charles Hammond, known as Roy C. It was first released as a single on Alaga Records in 1973, and was re-released to iTunes by Tuff City Records in 2017, after being sampled hundreds of times since the mid-1980s.[3] It is a protest song advocating the impeachment of then–U.S. President Richard Nixon.[4] In the chorus, the band chants the song's title while Roy persuades them to stop. The B-side is "Roy C's Theme".[5]
Significance[edit]
The song takes its drum pattern from "Funky Drummer" by James Brown; one of the most widely heard beats sampled and interpolated in hip hop, R&B, jazz and pop music.[6][7][8]
Sampling history[edit]
According to Mark Katz, Marley Marl in 1986 "became the first hip-hop producer to sample and reconfigure a recorded drum break" when he used the drum break from "Impeach the President" as the instrumental basis for MC Shan's song "The Bridge".[9]
In 1987, Audio Two used a two-second sample of "Impeach the President" on the song "Top Billin'".[10]
Digital Underground sampled the song on "Flowin' on the D-Line" from their 1991 album Sons of the P.[11]
In 1992, Tuff City Records sued Sony Music and Def Jam Records, alleging that samples of "Impeach the President" were used in L.L. Cool J's songs "Around the Way Girl" and "6 Minutes of Pleasure", as well as EPMD's "Give the People".[12] In a commentary in Billboard magazine, Aaron Fuchs, president oF Tuff City Records, stated that he charged a "low four-figure sum ... (three figures and less for indie labels)" to license "Impeach the President".[13]
Digable Planets sampled the song in "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)" in 1993.[14]
A Sprite commercial in 1995 featured Large Professor and Grand Puba freestyling over the song's breakbeat.[15]
"Impeach the President" was among the samples used in Nas's song "I Can".[16]
See also[edit]
- "Let's Impeach the President", 2006 protest song advocating the impeachment of President George W. Bush by Neil Young
- "Synthetic Substitution", 1973 protest song by Melvin Bliss
References[edit]
- ^ "Impeach the President - Single by the Honey Drippers". June 1973. Archived from the original on 2021-08-04. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
- ^ "Impeach the President". Amazon.
- ^ Metcalf, Josephine (2015). African American Culture and Society After Rodney King: Provocations and Protests, Progression and Post-racialism. Ashgate Publishing. p. 182. ISBN 9781472455390.
- ^ Mlynar, Phillip. "Hive Five: Great Moments in Hip-Hop Inspired by Presidents". MTV. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
- ^ "Impeach the President / Roy C's Theme, by The Honey Drippers". Tuff City Records. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
- ^ Reiff, Corbin (26 August 2015). "These are the breaks: 10 of the most sampled drum beats in music history". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
- ^ Doran, John (28 October 2015). "James Brown – 10 of the best". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
- ^ Markman, Rob. "Nas In 'Rare Form' On New Album, Salaam Remi Says". MTV. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
- ^ Katz, Mark (2012). Groove Music: The Art and Culture of the Hip-Hop DJ. Oxford University Press: Oxford. ISBN 9780199913015. Retrieved 2024-07-14.
- ^ Cowan, Andy (2023). B-Side: A Flipsided History of Pop. Headpress: Oxford, England. ISBN 9781915316134.
- ^ Rabaka, Reiland (2013). The Hip Hop Movement: From R&B and the Civil Rights Movement to Rap and the Hip Hop Generation. Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books. p. 262. ISBN 9780739181164.
- ^ Davies, Barbara (11 January 1992). "Tuff City Sues Sony, Def Jam Over Sample on Cool J Singles". Billboard. p. 71.
- ^ Fuchs, Aaron (23 May 1992). "What's in a Hip-Hop Drum Beat? Plenty, If You Own the Original Master". Billboard. p. 4.
- ^ Schonfeld, Zach (2021). 24-Carat Black's Ghetto: Misfortune's Wealth. New York: Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9781501355516.
- ^ Nelson, Havelock (8 April 1995). "Loud's Mobb Deep Depicts 'Infamous' Hood: 2nd Set Captures N.Y. Ghetto Life in Cinematic Detail". Billboard. p. 24.
- ^ Jeffries, Michael P. (2011). Thug Life: Race, Gender, and the Meaning of Hip-Hop. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 72. ISBN 9780226395845.