The J.B.'s
The Grunt
The J.B.'s' 1970 King single opens with a saxophone squeal that Public Enemy's Bomb Squad turned into the siren of “Rebel Without a Pause” and reused across their early records.
The record
“The Grunt” was recorded on May 19, 1970, at King Studios in Cincinnati, Ohio, by the J.B.'s, the band James Brown assembled that year around Bootsy Collins on bass and Catfish Collins on guitar. Frank Waddy played drums, Bobby Byrd played piano, Robert McCollough played tenor saxophone and Clayton Gunnels and Darryl Jamison played trumpet. Brown produced the session. King released it in June 1970 as a two-part single, catalog 6317, with “The Grunt (Part 2)” on the B-side. It was later included on the J.B.'s' 1972 album Food for Thought.
The break
Three parts of the record have been used: the squealing saxophone glissando that begins the piece, a two-note saxophone riff in the middle, and the underlying groove of Bootsy's bass and Waddy's drums. The squeal is the most recognizable. It is a high, rising shriek that sounds more like an alarm than a horn line when it is cut short and repeated.
Into hip hop
Hank Shocklee of the Bomb Squad sampled the glissando for Public Enemy's “Rebel Without a Pause” in 1987, first on an Ensoniq Mirage. The group later moved to an Akai S900 but kept the Mirage version because the cleaner sample lost impact. Played over and over, it became the song's signature whistle. The Bomb Squad reversed the same sound on “Terminator X to the Edge of Panic” and used the record again on “Night of the Living Baseheads”, both from It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988). The part appears on the Ultimate Breaks and Beats series as “The Grunt (Part 1)”.
Legacy
Other producers followed: Antoinette's “Who's the Boss” (1989), Compton's Most Wanted's “Final Chapter” (1990), Chubb Rock's “The One” (1991), Showbiz & A.G.'s “Soul Clap” (1991) and MC Serch's “Return of the Product” (1992). RZA used it on Wu-Tang Clan's “Protect Ya Neck” (1992), and the Black Eyed Peas used it on “Labor Day (It's a Holiday)” (2003). Mobb Deep's Prodigy used it on “Raining Gunz & Shanks”, and Logic on “Rogue One”. Outside hip hop, Prince and the New Power Generation drew on it for “Gett Off”, and the track was featured on the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas soundtrack. Nine writers are credited on the record, including Brown and several band members.
Rap records built on The Grunt
- 1987Public Enemy“Rebel Without a Pause”
- 1988Public Enemy“Terminator X to the Edge of Panic”
- 1988Public Enemy“Night of the Living Baseheads”
- 1989Antoinette“Who's the Boss”
- 1990Compton's Most Wanted“Final Chapter”
- 1991Chubb Rock“The One”
- 1991Showbiz & A.G.“Soul Clap”
- 1992MC Serch“Return of the Product”
- 1992Wu-Tang Clan“Protect Ya Neck”
- 2003Black Eyed Peas“Labor Day (It's a Holiday)”
Heard The Grunt on another record?
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