Hip-Hop beats were built on producers digging through crates of old, dusty vinyl records in the elusive search for the Perfect Sample. But some of these dudes apparently have been digging through yard sales and the used video game rack at GameStop too because there’s quite a bit of video game sampling going on in hiphop.

Below are some mad random hiphop songs with some random-ass video game samples in ‘em. I didn’t bother with obvious things like, “Oh shit! Smif n’ Wessun sampled Mario Brothers!”. And I’m going to ignore the fact that DJ Sega sampled (wait for it) a Sega game. Let’s break it down bit by bit…

BMS, “Mucho Stereo” Vs. Mortal Kombat (Genesis)

If you own this record, props. I personally love this track.

If the name “BMS” rings familiar, then you were probably buying records in the mid-to-late 90′s. “Mucho Stereo” is a sick 12″ that dropped in ’98 with the El-P produced Indelibles cut, “Weight” on the flip side. But the BMS tune, produced by the man himself, is the one. The crazy thing about this track though is it samples the Genesis version of Mortal Kombat (1993) which has an entirely different soundtrack than the arcade version — or even its Super Nintendo brother, for that matter. Still, I personally like the Genesis music. Check out the sample below:

Janet Jackson, “China Love” Vs. Legend of Mana

OK, OK, I’m cheating a bit. I know Janet Jackson isn’t hiphop. I, mean, don’t get me wrong: Janet’s HIPHOP. But her music ain’t hiphop. Alright, anyway…

This one blew my mind, I had to include it. Who the fuck is playing Legend of Mana — a Japanese role-playing game on Playstation from 1999 — up in Janet’s camp? Jimmy Jam? Or Terry Lewis? This shit bugged me out so bad, I had to figure out what was going on here. And sure enough, in the book (remember when music came with booklets?) it reads: “* Contains a sample from the Square game ‘Legend of Mana’”. *MIND BLOWN*

Tajai & SupremeEx, “Fluid Motion” Vs. Tobal 2

Now you may be asking yourself: “Yameen, how is it you know so much about video game samples in hiphop songs?” Well, it just so happens I have sampled a few video games in the past myself my attorney informs me that it’s something I can assure everyone I know from experience, as per “considerable time spent in the hiphop game” (pun partially intended).

In 1999, Tajai & *ahem* SupremeEx released their EP, Projecto: 2501. On it was the song, Fluid Motion which sampled an obscure part of an obscure import video game known as Tobal 2. When this game came out on the original PlayStation in 1997, it was a marvel to behold. Unfortunately, due to dismal sales of its predecessor, Tobal 2 was never released on American shores.

The sample takes place in the Quest Mode of the game which is entirely in Japanese. So if you don’t know Japanese, you probably won’t get very far. But that didn’t stop SupremeEx from flipping It.

Del the Funky Homosapien, “Proto Culture” Vs. Darkstalkers

Now, I’ll be the first to admit: even though it’s still “obscure” as far as mid-90′s hiphop is concerned, this is one of the more well known video game-sampling hiphop tracks. Not only does it sample Capcom’s influential 2D fighting game, Darkstalkers from 1994, but Del & rhyming accomplice Khaos Unique go one step further by rapping EXCLUSIVELY about video games on the entire track.

I was working with Del when this song came out in 2000, so I’m very fond of it. [bragging-writes](It’s also the song Del performed at the Sega Dreamcast American launch party in San Francisco in 1999 that YA BOY helped hook up, so, yahmeen…)[/bragging-writes] Peep the tracks!

Jay-Z, “Money, Cash, Hoes” Vs. Golden Axe

OK. I’m gonna throw a little bonus joint out there. I call it a bonus joint because I’m not 100% certain on this one. And Jay-Z is far from an obscure hiphop artist. But I’m almost positive this one’s a match: Swizz Beats sampled Golden Axe on the Sega Genesis for the 1999 Jay-Z/DMX track, “Money, Cash, Hoes”. Don’t believe me? Peep the evidence and let me know what you think:

Well, that’s it for this round of obscure rap records sampling obscure video games. Hope you enjoyed it. Tune in next time for more obscure bit beats.

My man Dan Amrich — former senior editor of GamePro, Official X-Box Magazine, World of Warcraft Magazine and a ton of other journalistic endeavors of the videogame-kind (spanning well over 16 years!) — has just been hired by Activision as their brand-spankin’ new Community Manager! Congrats, Dan!

One of Swords, his nom de Web, has just dropped Episode 001 of the brand new podcast featuring music by ya boy. Check it out here:

» One of Swords Podcast 001: The Saga Begins

Also, be sure to check out:
• Joystiq Interview: Dan Amrich of Activision community site One of Swords

Added some log overdue tunes from Never Knows More to the site music player. I’ve also embedded the player below. Peace.

Sorry, you need Flash 8 or higher to listen to the music player.