Ashley's Roachclip

"Ashley's Roachclip"
Instrumental by the Soul Searchers
from the album Salt of the Earth
Released	1974
Genre	Funk[1][2]
Length	5:36
Label	Sussex
Composer(s)	Lloyd Pinchback
Producer(s)	Carroll Hynson, Joe Tate

"Ashley's Roachclip" is an instrumental by funk group the Soul Searchers from the 1974 album Salt of the Earth on Sussex Records.[3] A portion of the track from 3:30 to 3:50 contains a widely recognized drum break performed by Kenneth Scoggins, that has been sampled countless times in songs across several genres.[4][5]

Among the most popular songs that have sampled the drum break are "Paid in Full" by Eric B. & Rakim, "Hey Young World" by Slick Rick, "Run's House" by Run-DMC,[6] "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" by P.M. Dawn,[7] "Girl You Know It's True" by Milli Vanilli[8] and "Unbelievable" by EMF.[7]

Personnel

• Bass guitar - John Euwell
• Congas, bongos - Lino Druitt
• Drums - Kenneth Scoggins
• Flute, saxophone - Lloyd Pinchback
• Guitar - Chuck Brown
• Organ - Bennie Braxton
• Percussion - Donald Tillery, John Buchanan, Kenneth Scoggins, Lino Druitt, Lloyd Pinchback
• Trombone, piano, synthesizer - John Buchanan
• Trumpet - Donald Tillery

Sampling in music culture

A list of the samples is available on WhoSampled:[9]

Drum break

• "Paid in Full" by Eric B. & Rakim (1987)
• "Girl You Know It's True", "All or Nothing" (Album Version) and "Baby Don't Forget My Number" from Milli Vanilli's album All or Nothing (1988)
• "Scarface" by Geto Boys (1989)
• "Unbelievable" by EMF (1990)
• "Take Your Time" by Mantronix feat. Wondress (1990)
• "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" by P.M. Dawn (1991)
• "It's Gonna Be a Lovely Day" by The S.O.U.L. S.Y.S.T.E.M. feat. Michelle Visage (1992)
• "You Gotta Be (Love Will Save The Day Mix)" by Des'ree (1994)
• "First Cool Hive" by Moby (1995)
• "Face in the Crowd" by Mac Miller (2011)

Other elements

• "Jack the Ripper" by LL Cool J (1987)
• "Bass & Key Duet" by J Dilla (2005)

Ashley Roachclip was a character on Cheech & Chong's 1972 album Big Bambu called Rebuttal: Speaker Ashley Roachclip.

References

1. Molanphy, Chris (May 20, 2021). "Blame It on the Feign Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
2. Breihan, Tom (December 27, 2021). "The Number Ones: P.M. Dawn's "Set Adrift On Memory Bliss". Stereogum. Retrieved July 6, 2024. ..."Ashley's Roachclip," the same once-obscure 1974 funk instrumental that had already emerged from the rap world...
3. Thompson, Dave (2001). "Part Four: The New School". Funk: Third Ear - The Essential Listening Companion (1st ed.). San Francisco: BackBeat Books. pp. 297–299. ISBN 0-87930-629-7 – via Google Books.
   - "Soul Searchers: Salt of the Earth". Discogs. 1974. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
4. "Ashley's Roachclip". Who Sampled. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
   - Nnamdi, Kojo (February 14, 2014). "From Go-Go's Heyday to Today: One Musician's Love Affair With D.C. Music". The Kojo Nnamdi Show. WAMU. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
5. "Ashley's Roachclip". 23 August 2010.
6. "BBC - Craig Charles' 5 Genius Hip Hop Samples". BBC.
7. "The Number Ones: P.M. Dawn's "Set Adrift On Memory Bliss"". December 27, 2021.
8. "The Number Ones: Milli Vanilli's "Baby Don't Forget My Number"". July 26, 2021.
9. "Songs that Sampled Ashley's Roachclip by The Soul Searchers". WhoSampled.