Similar to the mystery of chess boxing, diving into RZA’s unconventional production methods can be both fascinating and enlightening. Fortunately, YouTuber Cats Eye has got you covered. In this clear and concise video, he breaks down every sample and musical element used in the breakthrough Wu-Tang Clan single, “Protect Ya Neck.”

Sample Breakdown Videos

Not only are sample breakdown videos highly informative, but they’re also incredibly valuable learning tools. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned beatmaker, examining the inner workings of a favourite track can always yield new insights. Understanding the techniques behind a producer’s workflow helps deepen your grasp of beatmaking. It can also spark creative inspiration and offer ideas you can apply to your own music. So whenever you come across a breakdown of a track you love, take the time to watch it with a critical ear and eye.

Under the Hood of Protect ya Neck.

The video starts with a bit of background on Rza and how the Wu-Tang Clan’s debut came about, followed by speculation on the sampler used in its creation. While RZA is best known for using the Ensoniq ASR-10 sampling workstation, it’s believed that this beat was made using its predecessor, the EPS 16+. And to keep it real, that’s the sampler used in this beat breakdown video.

Cats Eye first uncovers the original piano and bass sounds used in the track. These come from Ensoniq’s original essential sound library, that came as part of a 3.5″ floppy disk set. The piano is identified as the Steinway 1, and it’s suspected that the bass comes from the nylon guitar patch, with the high frequencies filtered out.

Next, we get a full rundown of all the sampled components that make up “Protect Ya Neck,” including details like pitch, filtering, and sample rate settings. Starting with the drums, we learn that RZA sampled a stone-cold soul classic—Otis Redding’s “Hard to Handle.” Since this was pre-stem separation, we also hear some piano decay in the background, which only adds to the track’s raw character. The drum pattern is beefed up with an added snare from The Honey Drippers’ “Impeach the President” and a layered 808 kick.

Melodically the main sample elements are from the beginning of The Delfonics “Break your Promise”. This sample is filtered to remove much of the bottom end and then chopped in half. Next up that dissonant squeal sound that adds a dimension of threat to the beat. This is actually a short looped section from The J.Bs song The Grunt, first made famous by Public Enemy in their classic “Rebel without a pause“.

With the main elements taken care of Cats Eye then reveals some of the shorter one-shot samples as well as the Kung Fu movie used for the intro.

So that’s 6 different songs sampled in this track as well as some movie samples. Not bad work considering Rza was a relatively new producer in the game.

Cats Eye has done a number of other beat breakdowns, including one for the classic Shook Ones Pt 2 beat by Mobb Deep. So if this is the sort of thing you enjoy watching why don’t you go ahead and subscribe to his channel.

And to check out the breakdown in full, check out the video below. Enjoy!

And remember all of these samples were cleared, and RouteNote Create does not endorse unlicensed sampling.

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