#WhoSampled: Pusha T - My Name Is My Name (Album Samples)

Arguably the hottest record release this week, Pusha T‘s new album My Name Is My Name has been subject of plenty of industry talk lately. While many expressed their disappointment (or disbelief) that Joaquin Phoenix was not the mastermind behind the instrumental of the self-proclaimed “album of the year”‘s lead single “King Push,” MNIMN‘s production still plenty of material for thorough beat analysis. Case in point, the good folks over at WhoSampled.com took a closer look at the samples used in the long-player which is out now.

1. King Push (samples Kanye West’s ‘New Slaves)

TNGHT-esque snare rolls combine with a re-pitched vocal sample previously used in the refrain of Kanye’s ‘New Slaves‘ for the album’s opener. A track with a celebrity back story, the cut was rumored to have been produced by Joaquin Phoenix and Yeezy although the liner notes reveal the mystery co-producer to be the step-son of Lars Ulrich, Sebastian Sartor.

2. Numbers on the Boards (samples Bunny Sigler’s ‘Shake Your Booty‘, Anthony King & John Matthews ‘Pots ‘n’ Pans‘, Jay Z’s ‘Intro: A Million and One Questions/Rhyme No More’ and interpolates Jay Z’s ‘Ignorant Shit’)

Kanye is back in the producer’s chair here, this time in a similar vein to his Yeezus material. Punchy metallic samples from Anthony King & John Matthews’ ‘Pots and Pans’ form the backbone of this minimal track, interspersed with harsh Bound 2-esque cutaways to screams from Bunny Sigler‘s ‘Shake Your Booty‘ and Jay Z vocal passages.

3. Sweet Serenade (No credited samples)

If you did a double take when you first saw the feature for this one, you’re not alone. An unlikely collaboration, Chris Brown‘s vocals have been given a spacey treatment by Swizz Beatz over a stripped down track of tapping 808 snares and choral vocals.

4. Hold On (samples Duralcha’s ‘Ghetto Funk’)

Hudson Mohawke and Kanye come together again in a style reminiscent of 808s and Heartbreak era Kanye with warbling auto-tuned vocals sitting atop a blend of drum machine patterns and subtly layered drums lifted from Duralcha’s ‘Ghetto Funk’.

5. Suicide (interpolates Just-Ice’s ‘Moshitup’)

The old team is back together for this one. Pusha and Pharrell‘s first collab of the album delivers some characteristically Neptunes futuristic swing and a beat that refuses to stay still. Ab-Liva provides the hook with Pusha delivering the classic ‘suicide it’s a suicide’ line from Just-Ice and KRS-One‘s Moshitup.

6. 40 Acres (No credited samples)

The album’s pace slows for a moment with the The-Dream delivering ballad-esque vocals over synth pads leading into more sinister tones and a muffled drum track for Pusha’s contribution.

7. No Regrets (No credited samples)

Another Hudson Mohawke production more in line with his earlier maximalist material featuring a verse from Jeezy and a top line from Kevin Cossam.

8. Let Me Love You (samples Robotboys ‘Audition’)

One of the strangest references of the LP, The-Dream loops up a drum sample from an audition piece by the Robotboys from Denmark’s equivalent of ‘America’s Got Talent’ and comes through with one of the album’s more radio friendly pieces backed up with vocals from Kelly Rowland.

9. Who I Am (samples Kwes’ ‘Lgoyh.‘, Mountain’s ‘Long Red’, and ESG’s ‘UFO’)

Kanye on the buttons again alongside Million $ Mano exquisitely mixing old and new with a sample from British musician Kwes slowed down and flipped against the classic combination of ESG‘s UFO and Long Red. Obligatory 16s are provided by Big Sean and (you guessed it) 2 Chainz.

10. Nosetalgia (samples Bobby Byrd’s ‘(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right’, Malcolm McLaren’ ‘D’Ya Like Scratchin’?’, Boogie Down Productions ‘The Bridge Is Over’ and interpolates Pusha T’s ‘Trouble on My Mind’)

Nottz and Ye chop the bent guitar notes from the opening of Bobby Bland’s ‘(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right’ and a line from BDP’s The Bridge Is Over forms a hook of sorts. Kendrick steps in for the second half to deliver a memorable verse referencing Pusha’s ‘Trouble on My Mind‘.

11. Pain (samples Kishore Kumar’s ‘My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves’ and Marcos Valle’s ‘Bôdas De Sangue’)

Kanye and No I.D. recycle a piano line from Bôdas De Sangue (also used recently in New God Flow) along with a murky sample of Kishore Kumar‘s number ‘My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves‘ from the 1977 Indian film Amar Akbar Anthony.

12. S.N.I.T.C.H (No credited samples)

Pharrell closes out the album with a slightly more restrained blend of his signature sound which features a live drum track and a chorus of voices leading into 808s, synth pads and guitar hooks, all topped with Pusha’s hard edged delivery.