I have a love of digging up the original sources from which hip-hop and now all modern music samples from. This has especially been true since I got into Pizzicato Five, as they cut and paste everything. But let's go back to the classics, first.
I've always wondered where that breakbeat comes from that has been used on everything from Erik B and Rakim's "Paid in Full" to Milli Vanilli's "Girl You Know It's True"--my favorite, however, is its use in Brian Eno's "Ali Click." Well, with a little searching, I found out. It's a record by the Soul Searchers from 1974 called "Ashley's Roachclip." The famous two seconds come in about 3.5 mins into the song. You can hear a low-quality RealAudio sample over at this one person's Milli Vanilli site. But for the muthaload, check out These Are the Breaks, a list of ten of the most recognizable samples in hip-hop, including my all-time favorite, the Apache break. Mmm, bongo goodness!