The EWF Interlude Behind Take That’s ‘Higher’
Howard Donald heard an Earth, Wind & Fire interlude in late-eighties hip-hop, inspiring Take That's 'Higher.' A Tribe Called Quest's 'Mr. Muhammad' uses the same 'Beijo' sample.
Tracklist
- Higher — Take That
- Mr. Muhammad — A Tribe Called Quest
Transcript
Higher — Take That
Take That’s “Higher” has a hip-hop memory behind it, according to bandmate Howard Donald. At the London Palladium, he said he’d heard an Earth, Wind & Fire sample called “Beijo” used in a late-eighties hip-hop song. He kept thinking that sample could become a chorus. When he sent the song to the band’s “TT Boys” WhatsApp group, he told them, “I’ve got a single.” Bandmate Mark Owen joked that a song sent to the group could go unanswered for a week. Hear Higher by Take That.
Mr. Muhammad — A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest’s “Mr. Muhammad” gives us a hip-hop use of the Earth, Wind & Fire interlude Howard Donald remembered. Q-Tip looped part of Maurice White’s scat singing from “Brazilian Rhyme (Beijo Interlude)” for the track. Q-Tip said that while making Tribe’s debut, he wanted their hip-hop to get as close as possible to the Beatles, Earth, Wind & Fire or Sly Stone. Donald didn’t name the hip-hop song he heard. Tribe’s record gives us a documented parallel, not that missing title. Hear Mr. Muhammad by A Tribe Called Quest.