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Ain’t It Different... Not Really! — Headie One & the Art of Sampling.
Irving Adjei, better known by his stage name as Headie One, is a British rapper from London. As a child, Headie was obsessed with football and hoped to pursue a career in sports. However, due to injuries and other extra-curricular activities he turned his attention to music.
For Headie One’s new track ‘Ain’t It Different’, Headie has teamed up with fellow London artists, Stormzy and AJ Tracey, and produced by none other than FRED and Toddla T. The track showcases some of the biggest names and producers in the music industry at the moment, but the hit single is not as different or unique as the title suggests, with the grime instrumental following a rich history of sampling, dating all the way back to 1989. Keep reading to follow the journey to the source of the sample.
The first step of the journey is in 2006, Rio de Janeiro. Rap/Reggae/Rock group ConeCrewDiretoria sampled the instrumental for the introduction to their song ‘Reflexo’.
ConeCrewDiretoria — ‘Reflexo’
The Brazilian track is relatively insignificant in comparison to the other two singles, but with over 3 million views on Youtube, it shows how successful the sample is. Even though ‘Reflexo’ may never have reached the heights of the original and the first band to use the sample, it is still…
