A couple of months ago in Wax Poetics, legendary hip hop producer Pete Rock noted Isaac Hayes was a main inspiration on his own music, saying "he's the number one soul brother to me." Rock went on to say that Black Moses "affected his production and the way he hears things", and really it should come as no surprise as Hayes is right up there with James Brown as one of the most respected, and by extension, sampled, artists among the hip hop cognoscenti.

For those who may have come to Hayes know Hayes more for his Shaft/ South Park/ Scientology celebrity, Jamsbio offers up a neat little primer on some of the more notable uses of his music, from Biggie to Jay-Z to Public Enemy. My own advice: grip a copy of Hot Buttered Soul immediately and find a nice relaxing place and a love one to listen to it with.