I Never Really Liked The Beat On “Brooklyn’s Finest” (Sample: Ohio Players – “Ecstasy”)

I have a confession to make. As highly as I rank Jay Z Jay-Z and The Notorious B.I.G. as MC’s (#1 and #2 in my Top 5), I never really loved what is arguably their best collaboration, “Brooklyn’s Finest”. And it’s not for the lyrics. It’s the beat. It’s not terrible, just kinda awkward. Years ago when everybody was remixing Jay Z albums, I was hoping somebody would reach back and do a good remix of “Brooklyn’s Finest” but it never really happened. And yeah, over the years there have been time where I sorta liked “Brooklyn’s Finest”, but not like I should for a song featuring my two favorite rappers going back and forth.

The funny thing is, I actually love the origin of the sample, “Ecstasy” by Ohio Players. This was proved further when I heard Rick Ross recently sample the song on “World’s Finest” off his recently released Black Dollar mixtape. It’s one of those things that lets me know that Rozay is a Hip-Hop head. I’m sure his younger listeners will miss the reference but those in the know will smile about it.

The Ohio Players – “Ecstasy” (1973)

Jay-Z feat. The Notorious B.I.G. – “Brooklyn’s Finest” (1996)

Rick Ross feat. Meek Mill – “World’s Finest” (2015)