The Amen Break

Nate Harrison’s 2004 documentary Can I Get an Amen? on the “Amen Break”, uncovers the story behind one of the seminal breaks of the electronica/jungle/drum-n-bass scenes. Though I’d argue that James Brown’s “Funky Drummer” break is even more influential, and that the Kraftwerk/Africa Bambaata breaks are equally seminal in other genres, this is a fantastic demonstration of open culture and the profound ways that sampling can have an impact that no one could predict.

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