For this week’s Golden Age Thursday samples, we have an example of why the art of sampling can be a lifeline for musicians of the past. If you think it’s overwhelming to keep up with every new release that looks interesting to you in modern times, imagine not having all of those albums readily available in your pocket. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, there are beautifully crafted albums that just never got the love they deserved upon release. You can blame a lack of promotion from the label, the lack of a label at all, or simply that these albums got buried by peers, but it is in these dark corners of music history where some of the more noteworthy samples live, awaiting to be turned into some new form of sonic magic.
The lone album from New York afro-futurist J.O.B Orquestra, Open The Doors To Your Heart, is an excellent example of mind-altering music that didn’t generate the buzz it deserved upon its 1978 release. The entire 38-minute outing is brimming with the welcomed experimentation that made the spiritual jazz movement so special, creating a meadow of potential samples for some of modern Hip-hop’s finest minds. For this week’s Golden Age Thursday, we focus on “Govinda,” the final track on Open The Doors To Your Heart. There is a meditativeness to this performance that seems both insular and universal, and the likes of 9th Wonder and Kal Banx. You check out “Govinda” and how contemporary Hip-hop reshaped it below.
J.O.B. Orquestra – “Govinda”
Produced by Sri Rama Das, Prince Ali & Gene Orloff Ensemble
Isaiah Rashad – “RIP Young”
Produced by Kal Banx
Mac Miller – “Rain” (Feat. Vince Staples)
Produced by 9th Wonder
Nujabes – “Sea of Cloud”
Produced by Nujabes
