Various - Shaolin Soul Episode 1 Vinyl LP

Official repress of the O.G. French compilation series collecting source material sampled by RZA for Wu-Tang’s group and solo joints. Not to be confused with the RZA-approved Shaolin Soul Selection (which was a nice collection of rare Stax joints but… not the same), the Shaolin Soul series kicked off in 1998 with part 1 (this one) collecting rare darts by Ann Peebles ("Troubles, Heartaches & Sadness,” sampled in “Shadowboxin”), Syl Johnson (“Could I Be Falling In Love,” sampled in Rae & Ghost’s “Heaven & Hell”), The Charmels (“As Long As I’ve Got You” > “C.R.E.A.M.”), Bob James (“Nautilus” > “Daytona 500”), and on and on. 21 tracks altogether pressed on 4 sides of vinyl with CD version included. These comps are the ultimate crate saver for any DJ rocking funky breaks or looking to build a clever bridge between soul and hip-hop segments in their set, or, load it into your MPC or SP-12 to get your sampling chops up (also tried-and-true backyard barbecue soundtrack). Going on 20 years old, they’re almost as classic as the original joints. And don’t miss episodes two and three, also just reissued.