Isaac Hayes' "Ike's Mood" appeared on his 1970 album The Isaac Hayes Movement, and it exemplifies the lush, cinematic production style that made Hayes one of the most influential arrangers in soul music. The track is a slow-burning instrumental — strings, wah-wah guitar, and a sparse, deeply groovy rhythm section creating an atmosphere that's equal parts sensual and melancholy.

The break's atmospheric quality made it irresistible to hip-hop producers looking for mood and texture rather than just rhythm. Hayes' orchestral soul recordings provided some of the richest sampling material in hip-hop, and his influence on the genre's production aesthetic — that idea that a beat should create a world, not just a rhythm — is enormous.