"Super Bad" was a 1970 James Brown release that stretched across both sides of a 45 RPM single — nearly eleven minutes of unrelenting funk that showcased Brown and the J.B.'s at their most intense. The track builds and builds, with Brown's vocal ad-libs driving the band harder with each passing minute. It's exhausting in the best possible way.

The drum break from "Super Bad" — played with a ferocity that matches the song's title — was a natural fit for hip-hop production. Its aggressive energy and driving tempo made it particularly suited to hardcore rap, and producers from Marley Marl to DJ Muggs have drawn from it. Like much of Brown's early-70s output, "Super Bad" was funk as physical endurance test, and the drum break captures that intensity in a few bars.