The World’s Most Important 6 Second Drum Beat

A 2004 video of Nate Harrision taking a look at “Amen Break”, the world’s most important 6 second drum beat, from the The Winstons’ 1969 song “Amen, Brother”.

This sample was 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.

via Retro Thing

Scott Beale
Scott Beale

Scott Beale is the founder of Laughing Squid and is based in New York City. When not running the blog, Scott can be found posting on Threads and sharing photos on Instagram.