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Song Stories

“I Know You Got Soul”

Eric B. & Rakim | 1987
Eric B. and Rakim both had successful careers on their own before they joined forces to become a powerful, and trend-setting, hip-hop duo. One the first acts to use sampling in their songs, they quickly developed a strong following after the release of this single, from both local fans and famous celebrities. “Eric B. was driving a Rolls Royce before he ever put out a record,” Chris Rock told Rolling Stone. “My man was gangsta.”
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Song Stories

“Help Me”

Joni Mitchell | 1974

Joni Mitchell wrote and recorded this song for her album Court and Spark, but she had to switch from her regular band to make the song sound exactly the way she wanted. "I had attempted to play my music with rock & roll players," she told Rolling Stone. "They’d laugh, 'Awww, isn't that cute? She's trying to teach us how to play.'" Mitchell switched to a jazz band, Tom Scott’s L.A. Express, and scored the biggest hit of her career in the process.

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