Music evolves, as much by imitation as by inspiration. Every generation of musicians has been inspired, borrowed from, their predecessors, finding new in the heart of what came before.
So what do we make of sampling? The harvesting of existing music to be given new context, new treatments. Some say it’s a form of plagiarism, others see it as the new creativity.
It makes commercial sense, given pop’s appetite for new stuff that feels familiar. We hear some well known samples, track their origins, and talk about one of the best known samples, Gangsta’s Paradise, by Coolio, who died last month, aged 59.
