Women’s History Month is a chance to celebrate the cultural, artistic, and societal contributions of women across all spectrums of society. While flowers have been (rightfully) given to today’s female hip-hop stars, less is known about the dozens of women whose work laid the foundation for some of hip-hop’s biggest hits. This week we take a look at some of the most-sampled women artists whose work has appeared on chart-topping hip-hop tracks.
Lyn Collins was an American soul and funk singer, best known for her 1972 hit “Think (About It)”, which became widely sampled in hip-hop music, particularly in tracks by artists like Rob Base, Public Enemy, Snoop Dogg, and more. “Put It on the Line,” which came out in 1975,has been sampled by LL Cool J, 50 Cent, Juelz Santana, Jadakiss, Ashanti, and more while “Ain’t No Sunshine” (1972) has been sampled in tracks by Ghostface Killah, Rick Ross, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, and others, making Collins arguably the most sampled woman (although sometimes very subtly) in hip-hop history and according to the website whosampled.com, the third most sampled artist ever.
Diana Ross, a Motown legend, was sampled a bit more obviously when the Notorious BIG and Puff Daddy sampled her 1980 hit “I’m Coming Out” on their 1996 track “Mo Money, Mo Problems.” The same song has also been sampled by Ariana Grande, Childish Gambino, and more. Her 1976 track “Love Hangover” has been sampled by 2Pac, Snoop Dogg, Kodak Black, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Will Smith, Monica, and over a dozen other hip-hop artists, embedding itself into the hip-hop sound’s foundation for the last several decades.
Janet Jackson, still a musical force to be reckoned with, has been sampled about 645 times, most notably when her 1993 song “Any Time, Any Place,” was sampled on “Poetic Justice,” a 2012 collab (yes, you read that right) between Drake and Kendrick Lamar as well as on “Love in this Club” by Beyonce, Usher, and Lil Wayne. Bone Thugs-n-Harmony sampled her 1987 hit “Love in the Rain” on their 1996 track “Dayz of our Lives” as did Queen Latifah on 1993’s “Just Another Day.”
While Madonna might seem to be more pop than hip-hop, her 1986 song “La Isla Bonita” has been sampled by the Black Eyed Peas, Black Rob, Kanye West, Jennifer Lopez, Mase, and others while “Justify my Love” (1990) was sampled by Jay-Z on his 2003 track “Justify my Thug” amongst other artists.
Aretha Franklin has been well-known as one of the most influential vocalists in music history and for generations, hip-hop artists have taken note, with JID, 21 Savage, and Baby Tate sampling her 1965 hit “One Step Ahead” on their 2022 track “Surround Sound.” Other artists who sampled the same track include Kendrick Lamar, Mos Def, and others while her 1971 song “Rock Steady” has been sampled by Outkast, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and more and elements of “Call Me” (1970) have appeared on tracks by Kanye West, Big Sean, John Legend, and others.
Whitney Houston’s 1984 track “Are You the Woman” has been sampled by Metro Boomin and 21 Savage on “10 Freaky Girls” while Lil Wayne and Bebe Rexha sampled “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” on “The Way I Are.” Houston has also been sampled by Drake, The Game, and others.
Despite only releasing one solo full commercial album (The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill), Lauryn Hill has been sampled by Drake, Cardi B, PnB Rock, Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Lizzo, and more.