Syl Johnson — Is It Because I'm Black
Is It Because I'm Black · 1970
Label: Twinight · Genre: Soul / Funk Soul · Country: USA · From: Chicago, IL, North America
Syl Johnson recorded this album in 1970, a year before Marvin Gaye's What's Going On is usually credited with inventing the conscious soul album. Johnson grew up on Chicago's South Side and the album addresses Black identity, poverty, and the aftermath of the civil rights movement with raw directness. It was widely sampled by hip-hop producers decades later — Kanye, Jay-Z, and Public Enemy all used his breaks.
Did you know: Johnson's Different Strokes from his earlier album is one of the most sampled records in hip-hop history. He received no royalties from these samples for years because the industry had no effective mechanism for compensating him.
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