Who did Blackstreet
sample?

'A Dream' is a classic little ditty by DeBarge that has been sampled a bunch over the years with varying levels of success. It was all kicked off by Tupac in 1996 right after busting out of the state pen and has been carried through to the present day with some very questionable versions and some stone cold classics.

The original tune by DeBarge is the kind of 1980s slow jam that immediately makes you want to grow a creepy tash and wear a single leather glove. The lead vocals by Bunny DeBarge sit on top of some genuinely fake synthesised strings and some of the softest ‘non-drums’ you’ll ever not hear.

Let’s ignore the rank versions by Victoria Beckham, Lady Gaga and Fifth Harmony for a minute and go straight to the real gem here - Blackstreet’s 'Don’t Leave' from 1997.

Sensibly incorporating the fake synthesised strings with a their trademark vocoder, the Blackstreet version is a great example of taking a riff or hook and putting some of your own sugar on top to make something quite nice be definitely very nice.

Our selections here showcase that tasty hook in all it's glory. The edit of the DeBarge tune extends the riff and merges the instrumental and the original into a 3.30 minute 80s paradise. The Blackstreet edit combines the hook with their irresistible 90s vocoder for the late night karaoke crew...

Please respect the artists and make sure you buy the originals, you know the score.