Take Wu-Tang Clan’s ‘C.R.E.A.M.’ for instance, a single released in 1994, that is one of the most recognizable hip hop songs to this day – while it’s no secret that the melody has been sampled, the original song from 1967, ‘As Long As I’ve Got You’ by The Charmels, is far less known.

If you’re looking for an arguably even lesser known sample, try guessing where Jason Derulo’s somewhat iconic ‘Whatcha Say’ (released in 2009) came from. (Hint: give Imogen Heap’s ‘Hide and Seek’ (2005) a listen.)

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Image credits: Cart Memes – Classical Art Memes

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Image credits: Cart Memes – Classical Art Memes

While millions of songs are sampled in the process of creating new hits, others live through a renaissance after artists present new—often more upbeat—versions, sometimes taking the song to new heights on record charts.

There is an abundance of examples of such songs, too; Asaf Avidan’s ‘Reckoning Song (One Day)’, for one, which gained even more popularity after the German DJ Wankelmut gave it an EDM remix. Though Avidan wasn’t too happy about it at first:

“At the start, I asked him politely, and then not-so-politely, to take it off YouTube and stop giving it to DJs. And he just completely ignored me. I didn’t really have time to be bothered with it because I was making a record at the time and I guess it’s for the best now,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.

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Image credits: Cart Memes – Classical Art Memes

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