Ever since the success of Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda” with the incorporation of the backtrack of “Baby Got Back”, sampling has been all the rave. This is not to say sampling was birthed by Miss Barb herself, but the number of songs sounding “a bit too close” to older songs seems to increase exponentially each year. Is it because we’re running out of music, or is it just easy and trendy to use old melodies? Either way, here is a rating of all the trending songs from 2023 so far that seem to follow Miss Minaj’s formula, herself included.
Barbie world – Nicki minaj & ice spice
Starting with the Queen herself is “Barbie World,” sampled from Aqua’s 1997 hit “Barbie Girl.” I am a bit perplexed in this rating as I will admit I am not particularly an Ice Spice fan after hearing “Karma is my bestie” over Taylor Swift’s extended Midnights Album. But do I know all the words to the song? Yes. Did I sit through the credits after the Barbie movie to listen to the song? Yes. Do I skip it in my playlist? Maybe. Sure, it might overlook Aqua’s original anti-capitalistic message, but it’s catchy, and for that, I’ll give it a 4/5.
SPEED DRIVE – CHARLI xcx
Following the Barbie sampling train is Charli XCX with “Speed Drive” sampled from Toni Basil’s “Hey Mickey”. This one does it right. The sampling is not too extreme, yet catchy enough for me to think, “Hey I know this,” and scream that chorus like no one else. Also, I love the nods to Barbie and female friendship but with a beat fast enough to make me want to “Cruel Summer,” my American girl doll car off a bridge. 5/5.
i’m good – bebe rexha & david guetta
I hate this song. 0/5. If you need an explanation of why a rendition of the tragic “I’m Blue” by electronic artist Eiffel 65 should not be remade into a pop club anthem by Bebe Rexha, then you are not my target audience. Still love you, though!
PLAYERS – COI LERAY
I’m not sure what the collective opinion of Coi Leray’s sample of Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five’s “The Message” backing melody is, but I liked it. People tend not to like the new song if it has a different meaning, but I think the casual feminist undertones of Coi Leray’s version suit it well. It’s a topic you don’t hear much about. I’m not sure I can say the same for the other sampled songs on her latest album, but this one’s good. 4/5.
Escapism – RAYE & 070 Shake
Is it a sample? Who knows? But is it a good song? Yeah, I think so. There’s potential to the backing melody being from Missy Elliott’s “Work It”. Either way, I think RAYE does an honor to one of THE founders of female rap. Her message was also desperately needed. Once overplayed, I do think this “sample” deserves some recognition after coming back to it—5/5 song.
Paint the Town Red – Doja Cat
I cannot believe I didn’t know this song was a sample until writing this article. I am uncultured. Anyways, Doja Cat’s latest new song, “Paint the Town Red,” samples Dionne Warwick’s “Walk on By” from 1964. Girl knows her older artists! It even directly samples Dionne’s voice in the beginning. Doja Cat may hate me, but I will be pregaming with this song in the background. 4/5.
Alone – Kim Petras
(And Nicki, but we cannot tarnish her reputation.)
Every time I got an Instagram ad for Alone pt. 2 with Kim Petras out-of-lip-syncing to her new song, I threw my phone across the room. If I wanted to listen to a worse version of the god-tier buildup of Alice Deejay’s “Better Off Alone”, don’t you think I could search for it on my own Instagram? I will, from here on now, only be listening to Alice’s version. It’s not that Kim Petras ruined it. I’m simply nostalgic for the old one, and I refuse to accept this as its replacement. 2/5 for Kim. 12/5 for Alice.
I know I’m missing a lot of songs, but I’m honestly scared to call any other woman’s song from this year sampled for fear of Olivia Rodrigo stans. That being said, I think I’ve learned to appreciate some sampling techniques since writing this article, and I’ve been introduced to older artists I would have known nothing about. Is sampling good? It’s up for debate. But I do think it does its job of creating nostalgia and honoring former musicians.