ShaBOOM: Where else have I heard this?

July 10, 2020 1:36 PM

There's a specific 4 note background electric strings riff in the Hamilton song "Right Hand Man" that starts up right after the "Boom" section (at around 2:20 and continues in variation through 2:45) that's maddeningly familiar! Where might I have heard it before?

I'm certain it (or something VERY similar) is in a hip hop song I've heard before but I've been listening to all my old favorites but no luck!

posted by Calicatt to Media & Arts (9 answers total)

Could it be Busta Rhyme’s Scenario? From this list:

Update, Sept. 26, 2015: In an interview with Miranda on the New York Times Popcast, critic Jon Caramanica suggests that the repetitions of “Boom goes the cannon” are a tribute to Busta Rhymes’ part (“Boom from the cannon”) at around 3:12 in “Scenario.”

posted by the thorn bushes have roses at 2:04 PM on July 10, 2020

Busta Rhyme’s Scenario

That's A Tribe Called Quest, featuring Busta Rhymes. Boom goes the cannon is a lyrics quote, rather than any riff that appears in the track.
posted by zamboni at 2:10 PM on July 10, 2020

Thanks, zamboni, I was typing too fast and not thinking.
posted by the thorn bushes have roses at 2:12 PM on July 10, 2020

It sounds similar to, but not the same as, the orch hit in Usher’s Yeah. Maybe it is from or a reference to another song on that album?
posted by gauche at 2:53 PM on July 10, 2020 [1 favorite]

This is almost certainly not the right answer, but it reminds me of the beginning of this obscure Duran Duran song (The Chauffeur): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCF2nMrQde8
posted by He Is Only The Imposter at 2:53 PM on July 10, 2020

It sounds similar to, but not the same as, the orch hit in Usher’s Yeah.

Yeah, it does sound like something from a Lil Jon production. Snap Yo Fingers is another example. Perhaps more obliquely it reminds me of the Ice Cream Paint Job beat. (It was a decent hit in 2009, manyyy remixes with big names on that beat.) Those are the two things that come immediately to mind on hearing it, hopefully someone has a more exact match!
posted by Lorin at 3:21 PM on July 10, 2020 [3 favorites]

From greermahoney:

Please let Calicatt know that this video might help. The part of the song she's talking about occurs at 4:30, but I would suggest listening to the whole video. The video has many examples of that exact motif, and one of them might be the one she's thinking of.

posted by Johnny Wallflower at 5:10 AM on July 11, 2020 [7 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks everyone! I feel like usher/lil Jon is close but still haven’t found it exactly. I’ll keep looking. It was definitely something I’d heard outside the show since I felt a very strong recognition the first time I heard it, but that video is incredibly fascinating anyway so thanks for that too!
posted by Calicatt at 4:29 PM on July 12, 2020 [2 favorites]

Gangsta's Paradise?
posted by Ilira at 4:11 AM on July 14, 2020