On Monday, August 5th, legendary keyboardist, music innovator, and Bay Area native George Duke passed away at 67 years old. Born in San Rafael, raised in Marin City, and trained in San Francisco, Duke released over 30 solo albums throughout his career and collaborated on the side with a truly unique array of artists that range from Michael Jackson, to Frank Zappa, and Miles Davis. He has won Grammy awards as both a producer and a supporting musician, and was nominated multiple times as a solo artist. He had a major impact on Funk, Jazz, Rock N‘ Roll and the fusion of all three genres, but as is the case with most creative and successful musicians, Duke’s catalogue has also been heavily sampled and has thus made an impression on hip-hop as well. Specifically in the Bay Area, he has been the man behind the samples to a lot of local hip-hop, including a couple of our most well known and important songs. In remembrance of a true Bay Area legend, below is a selection of some of my favorite instances in which the music of George Duke and Bay Area hip-hop have combined.
