Rappers recycle hits using samples

It seems like an unlikely combination -- David Bowie, Lisa Stansfield and Sting getting together to work on a rap album.

Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs is the mastermind who brought these three together, and in the process helped popularize a trend in the hip-hop world: sampling.

Stansfield's lyrics from her 1990 song "All Around the World," were used in Puffy's song "Been Around the World" along with music from Bowie's '80s hit "Let's Dance."

- Amy Feldman (freshman-division of undergraduate studies)

Combs, the chief executive officer and founder of Bad Boy Entertainment, has gained recognition in the hip-hop world for sampling and remixing old songs from artists such as Diana Ross or Michael Jackson and turning them into chart-topping songs.

Combs and the rest of the sample-happy Bad Boy family are everywhere these days. His quadruple-platinum album No Way Out has been on the Billboard 200 for 24 weeks, according to Rolling Stone magazine, and label-mates such as the late B.I.G. and Mase also hold prominent spots on the charts.

Despite the big sales, some people have a problem with Combs turning old songs into new hits.

"Puff Daddy is disgracing the true essence of hip-hop by sampling," said J.J. Brown (sophomore-music theatre).

Other music listeners such as Amy Feldman (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) said she thinks that Combs' music is "evil."

"I would call Puff Daddy the devil, but I wouldn't want to insult Satan," Feldman said.

On an MTV special, Combs said he feels responsible for the abundance of sampling found in hip-hop, a trend that can be found even in the non-Puffy world. For example, Will Smith's "Men in Black" contains samples from Patrice Rushen's song "Forget Me Nots."

Though Puffy has his share of detractors for this influx of sampling, Brown defended the rapper and noted his strong business skils.

"He is a business man who has found a way to be on top," Brown said. "Combs is helping to spread the word about hip-hop."