Earth, Wind & Fire and DJ Flagrant

Hey y'all! It's been awhile 😅 I've got some catching up to do, so expect a lot of posts in the next few days!

For this post, I wanted to find a sample of one of the most famous bands of ALL TIME: Earth, Wind & Fire. I started by looking up one of my favorite EW&F tunes Can't Let Go on whosampled to see what I could find. I ended up finding a really great song from a very unknown Australian DJ, DJ Fragrant, so I am very excited to share it!

Everyone knows EW&F, there's a handful of songs that most people would probably recognize like: September, Shining Star, and Let's Groove. Songs like these and countless others are still popular today, especially through Tik-Tok, like I mentioned with Michael Jackson. EW&F have sold over 90 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling bands of all time. They have received countless awards, most notably 6 Grammys out of 17 overall nominations. The band was founded by Maurice White in 1969, who was a lead singer of the group. There is a large number of musicians that have been part of EW&F, and one of the things that the group has been known for is their amazing horn section and killer horn lines. Can't Let Go is a great example, the song opens with a great horn line that returns later on in the tune. This is one of my favorites of theirs because it just grooves so well. Once the groove starts going it can't be stopped. It's the kind of song that you just can't help but dance to, like many of EW&F's discography. I really love how this song just rides out about halfway through, it never feels old or repetitive, it just makes me feel good!

Here is Can't Let Go:

I mentioned above, I found this next song that samples EW&F by simply looking to see if the song was used as a sample at all. Low and behold I discovered Homegrown Anthem by DJ Fragrant, an artist that I've never heard of. Not much is known about DJ Flagrant as of late, but in the early 2000s he was very well known in the Australian hip-hop scene. In the 1990s he worked with artists like Kanye West, Busta Rhymes, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, and Wu Tang Clan among many others. His song Homegrown Anthem is a really wonderful song. It is from a mixtape of his that was released in 2008 called "Homegrown." I think the only downside to this song is that the production seems like it's messed up, but that may just be the recording used on youtube. The record itself may not sound this way on a physical copy, but the song sounds very muffled throughout. The sample used in this song is a direct sample of the opening of Can't Let Go, it's just been slowed down and repeated. From what I can hear, I really like the beat! The drums that have been added are great, and the added synths and effects really tie it all together.

Here is a link to Homegrown Anthem:

Homegrown Anthem