In 2018, arguably at the peak of Drake’s international fame, the Canadian superstar rapper released “Nice For What” to a storm of critical appraise. Unlike other Drake singles at the time, it was quickly swept under the thunderous applause of another rapper. Childish Gambino released his unprecedented number one “This Is America” not a month later. “Nice For What” disappeared from the charts and the woman’s empowerment-centric music video was celebrated and then left to gather dust in Drake's cluttered discography.
Does this make “Nice For What” a bad song? It is this writer’s humble opinion the single would have outlasted Drake’s summer hit “In My Feelings” had Gambino not upset the hip hop balance. As someone who frequently skips Drake songs in private, I frequent “Nice For What” more than I care to admit. What truly makes the single stand out from the rest of Drake’s over-saturated catalog is the history behind the sample that producers BlaqNMild and Murda Beatz managed to incorporate into the New Orleans bounce, bass-busy beat.
To understand the “Nice For What” sample, you will have to revisit 1998 and Lauryn Hill’s exceptional The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, the former Fugees singer’s one-and-done solo album. Track three, “Ex-Factor,” quickly became a stand-out, as its lyrics alluded to the stale relationship between Hill and ex-bandmate and ex-boyfriend, Wyclef Jean.
Long before Drake revived the song, “Ex-Factor” had staying power. Following a post-album single release, the song made it to the top of the UK’s R&B charts in 1999 and number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. It was certified Gold five years after its initial debut, and has been alluded to in modern pop left and right (see Cardi B’s “Be Careful” & Camila Cabello’s “Cry For Me” -- there is practically a whole sub-genre devoted to "Ex-Factor" interpolation).
Now Drake is a rather smart businessman, and his producers get paid by the boatload for a good reason. The perfect song for a man to sample when he’s rapping about female empowerment, “Ex-Factor” is undeniably singular and identifiable. It strikes a fierce note about the battlefield of loving the wrong men. It was a hit, which, similar to “Nice For What,” is owed to the song’s production.
Whether you believe the controversy surrounding Hill’s individual handling of the entire album’s production or not, not everything can be credited to her. “Ex-Factor” borrows the beat and sample from Wu-Tang Clan’s infamous “Can It All Be So Simple” from Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) where hip-hop legend the RZA laid the groundwork for producer/rappers like Hill. If it wasn’t enough to hear the beat, Hill makes the reference clear in the song’s opening lines (It could all be so simple, baby).
For those unfamiliar with RZA’s production style, there is no other producer in hip-hop that has an ear for sampling quite like him (besides maybe Q-Tip). Most of Wu-Tang’s early beats were mashed-up in the basement of RZA’s parents’ house, where he surfed through an extensive collection of vinyl for sounds that may last only three seconds. What happened when he heard Gladys Knight & the Pips’ “The Way We Were / Try to Remember”? He thought it would sound nice over the funky picking of Labi Siffre’s “I Got The” (which later was sampled by Eminem). The result is the typical grimy nature of Wu-Tang and Wu-affiliate beats from the 90s, but also a perfect place for Hill to explain how love is anything but simple when it comes to Wyclef Jean.
So that puts “Nice For What” four/five samples deep (I feel like I'm trying to explain the final scenes of Inception). But it also makes three generations of artists sharing one sample, crossing genres to cement the endurance of Gladys Knight’s undeniable and instantly recognizable talent. In fact, many acknowledge that despite Barbara Streisand writing “The Way We Were,” Gladys gave the song notoriety. Could we say the same about Wu-Tang or Hill or Drake? Hardly, but the beauty behind hip-hop is its ability to preserve music history through sampling.
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What samples should we dive into next? Which crates do you want us to go digging in? Let us know in the comments below or shout at us over on Twitter @channelWAV.
- Ritter
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