Songfacts®:

• Many rappers were using samples without permission in 1990, but on "Jackin' For Beats," Ice Cube had the temerity to not just use the samples, but boast about how he was stealing them. He laces the song with bits and pieces of recent hits like "The Humpty Dance" by Digital Underground and "Big Ole Butt" by LL Cool J, but also throws in pieces from at least 20 other songs, many by James Brown. He's putting other rappers on notice, letting them know their beats aren't safe.
• A year after this song was released, a judge ruled that samples had to be cleared. The cat was out of the bag, but it meant that song that had used samples without permission now needed to clear them or pull the tracks off subsequent pressings of their albums. In the digital age, songs with uncleared samples weren't allowed. This kept most of De La Soul's catalog off streaming services for many years, but acts with good lawyers were able to clear the samples retroactively. Even Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique album somehow how got cleared.
  
  "Jackin' For Beats" weathered this legal storm, standing as a landmark to a time when rappers could sample with impunity.
• Because of all the samples, 19 different writers are credited on this track.
• Cypress Hill didn't heed Ice Cube's warning in this song when they let him hear a track they were working on called "Throw Your Set In The Air." According to the group, Cube jacked it, using the hook for his song "Friday," which he released first.
• The song is part of Ice Cube's 1990 EP Kill At Will, released seven months after his debut solo album, AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted. His group N.W.A was still active, but members were also working on solo albums.
• The dialogue at the beginning comes from a 1989 NBC News special called Gangs, Cops & Drugs, an investigation into crime in Los Angeles.