James Brown released "Say It Loud — I'm Black and I'm Proud" in 1968, and the track became an anthem of the Black Power movement overnight. Recorded with a group of children providing the response vocals, the song was both a political statement and a funk masterpiece — Brown's rhythm section delivering one of their most forceful grooves beneath a message of racial pride and defiance.

The break carries the weight of its cultural context. When hip-hop producers sampled "Say It Loud," they weren't just grabbing drums — they were invoking a specific moment in Black American history. Public Enemy, who built their entire aesthetic around the intersection of music and political consciousness, used Brown's catalog more than almost any other source. The record's dual identity as both political anthem and elite funk production made it essential to hip-hop's understanding of itself.