No Sell Out
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Distinguished guests Malcolm X White, black, red, brown, yellow The only thing power respects, is power They take one little word out of what you say, ignore all the rest What I say might sound like I'm stirring up trouble No, we need either this or that, this or that There will be no skulduggery, no flim-flam Malcolm X You can't deny that If you're afraid to tell the truth You can't say that you're not going to have an explosion Malcolm X I've got a plate in front of me but nothing is on it I was in a house last night that was bombed, my own Brothers and sisters friends --"No Sell Out" (1983) by Keith LeBlanc |
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"No Sell Out" (1983) is musical composition by American drummer Keith LeBlanc under the moniker Malcolm X, released in November 1983 on Tommy Boy Records.
It marked the one of the earliest usages of sample-based composition in popular music as well as being the first hip hop song to use Malcolm X's voice for artistic and political reasons.
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Background
The idea for the piece was originally conceived when LeBlanc heard Grandmaster Flash playing a record in conjunction with the sample "Do you feel lucky, punk?" taken from the 1971 action film Dirty Harry. In an interview with The Quietus, Leblanc recalled: "I just thought the combination of a beat and music and spoken word over the top of it was pretty magical to me." Leblanc began listening to Malcolm X's spoken word recordings while experimenting with different drum beats.
The recording marked LeBlanc's first time working extensively with drum machines and as a producer, with the project being financed by Marshall Chess. LeBlanc opted to use the newest gear affordable, using an Oberheim DMX and E-mu Drumulator to create and program the music. The spoken word passages were used with the permission of Betty Shabazz, with a percentage of the proceeds going to the family of Malcolm X. Previous to contacting Tommy Boy Records, LeBlanc wanted Sugar Hill Records to issue the recording, but was discouraged by their unwillingness to provide royalties to Malcolm's family.
Influence
The song "No Sell Out" represented a shift toward more politically conscious topics in the hip hop community. It was released on the heels of the single "How We Gonna Make the Black Nation Rise?" by Brother D (Daryl Aamaa Nubyahn), a song that took a nationalist stance. "No Sell Out" was the beginning of a movement in which hip hop artists motivated by political ideology, including Public Enemy, would utilize samples of Malcolm X's voice in their compositions. However, in contrast to other artists who used his voice, the single is unique in that Malcolm X receives compositional credit in the LP's liner notes and that his family received royalties generated by the single's success. It was also the first instance of a hip hop artist using a deceased individual's voice for artistic purposes.
The track was sampled by Tragedy Khadafi on his song "Black & Proud" from the 1990 album Intelligent Hoodlum, which also sampled Malcolm X.
Formats and track listing
All songs written by Keith LeBlanc and Malcolm X
- US 12" single (TB 840)
- "No Sell Out" – 5:44
- "No Sell Out" (instrumental version) – 7:09
Personnel
Adapted from the No Sell Out liner notes.
- Music personnel
- Reggie Griffin – bass guitar, rhythm guitar, Minimoog, Voyetra-8
- Keith LeBlanc – Oberheim DMX, E-mu Drumulator, Minimoog, Voyetra-8, producer
- Malcolm X – spoken word
- Technical personnel
- Robert Haggins – photography
- Chris Lord-Alge – mixing
- Herb Powers Jr. – mastering
- Eric Thorngren – engineering
See also
