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2015 Essence Music Festival - Day 3

Source: Erika Goldring / Getty

There are at least a dozen love songs that everyone can relate to. It may be about the artist who sang it, the time in which it was popular and on the radio, or simply the words of the song that resonated with what you were feeling. But sometimes artists use those feelings of nostalgia to tap into the emotions they’re trying to project in their music.

For instance, Mary J. Blige singing the chorus of “All I Need” on Method Man’s 1995 hit song immediately sparked the loving emotion Tammi Terrell and Marvin Gaye spoke to in “You’re All I Need to Get By” 27 years prior.

Outkast and UGK created the slang of “getting chose” in “Int’l Player’s Anthem” by sampling Willie Hutch’s “I Chose You”. And Jay Z and Beyoncé sampled a song called “Believe in Me” to reveal their intimate connection on “Part II (On the Run)”.

Listen and read about these hits and more, below.

Pharrell – “Number One” (Sample: Malcolm McLaren “World’s Famous”)

The vocals and lyrics of Malcolm McLaren were used for this intergalactic sounding 2006 love song by Kanye West.

Mase ft. Total – “What You Want” (Sample: Curtis Mayfield, “Right on for the Darkness”)

The minute the guitar strikes in Mayfield’s song you hear Total singing over the sample used throughout the 1997 Mase hit about relationship compromise.

Black Star – “Brown Skin Lady” (Sample: Chameleon Street, “Good Hair” scene)

This ode to black women with darker complexion was partly inspired by a scene in the 1989 satire film “Chameleon Street”, which was dropped into the song.

Common – “The Light” (Sample: Bobby Caldwell, “Open Your Eyes”)

Sweet thoughts of love and infatuation come to mind when hearing both of these inspired songs the used the same melody and words in chorus.

A Tribe Called Quest – “Bonita Applebum” (Sample: RAMP, “Daylight”)

We have a feeling Q-Tip himself picked out this Roy Ayers-produced record for ATCQ’s 1990 hit about a beautiful woman with a big backside.

The Pharcyde – “Passin’ Me By” (Sample: Quincy Jones ft. Valerie Simpson, “Summer in the City”)

Once again the 1970s sound served as inspiration for this Hip-Hop classic about women loved and lost.

Method Man ft. Mary J. Blige – “All I Need” (Sample: Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, “You’re All I Need to Get By”)

Fun fact: This song also samples another song from 1968 called “Stoned Soul” by Artie Christopher.

Jay Z ft. Beyoncé – “Part II (On the Run)” (Sample: One Way, “Believe In Me”)

The piano from this 1985 R&B song by One Way, gives the melody away from one of our favorite collabo love songs from the Carters.

OutKast ft. UGK – “Int’l Players Anthem” (Sample: Willie Hutch, “I Choose You”)

Apropos to the theme of finding the right woman and getting married, Juicy J and DJ Paul referenced this 1973 track for their whole song with Outkast and UGK.

Talib Kweli – “Never Been in Love” (Sample: The Imaginations, “Because I Love You”)

This 1974 slow groove was hardly altered for Talib Kweli’s song produced by Just Blaze in 2004.

For 2024’s iteration of MadameNoire and HelloBeautiful’s annual series Women to Know, we knew we wanted to celebrate the people who help make the joys of film and television possible. To create art is to create magic. This year, we spotlight Hollywood Executive’s changing the face of cinema.