i’ve long had a theory that the reason hip hop has been steadily in decline, and is so inexcusably awful in this century, is in part due to sampling law. (i say in part because sampling law does not explain the lack of lyrical prowess, also the detrimental effects of the huge influx of cash is obvious.) in september of last year copyright law concerning sampling was made even more stringent in a ruling over the song 100 miles an running by n.w.a. today any note or sound not originally composed must be payed for. i suspect musically it will be the death knell of this already limping artform. (it makes me wonder how any albums have made it to press in the last 8 months!) anyhow if you’d like to revisit the glory days of sampling check out the history of sampling v1.0 created by jesse kriss. it’s a java applet which draws data from the breaks database and creates a nifty visualization of sampling from 1952-2004. the most sample heavy record i’ve found so far is three feet high and rising. check out the full list for every track on paul’s boutique, stress: the extinction agenda, low end theory, etc. very cool. guarantee you’ll learn something or at very least find something to search for on itunes.