History of the world's most important drumbeat

Nate Harrison’s “Amen Break” / 18:08 mins.

This amazing 20-minute video narrates the history of the “Amen Break,” a six-second drum sample from the b-side of a chart-topping single from 1969. This sample has been used extensively in early hiphop and sample-based music, and became the basis for drum-and-bass and jungle music — a six-second clip that spawned several entire subcultures. Nate Harrison’s 2004 video is a meditation on the ownership of culture, the nature of art and creativity, and the history of a remarkable music clip.

I’m sure you know it and think it’s a James Brown beat. Well worth your time.