Blue Note Records' Droppin' Science is a unique collection of the legendary label's classic late 60s through mid-70s jazz-funk tracks, all of which have featured prominently as samples in some of the greatest hip hop cuts of the late 80s, 90s and beyond. Hip hop artists ranging from Dr. Dre to the Beastie Boys and A Tribe Called Quest have sampled Blue Note grooves by such jazz greats as Lou Donaldson, Grant Green, Donald Byrd, and Lonnie Smith. All of these original Blue Note tracks have been compiled for the first time on Droppin' Science, which Blue Note will release as a 10-track CD, a 13-track digital album and vinyl LP, as well as individual ring-tunes that are based on the exact sampled loop.

Taking the name from a cut off of Marley Marl's 1988 LP In Control Vol. 1, Blue Note's VP of A&R Eli Wolf conceived the Droppin' Science project as a way to connect what he calls the "golden age of hip hop" to the now classic jazz-funk tracks recorded for Blue Note during the late 60s through mid-70s. Selecting from over 25 Blue Note tracks, Wolf has assembled the best of the best from the Blue Note sampleography.

The list of artists both sampled and sampling includes some of the most famous names in the world of jazz and hip hop, and covers a large breadth of time. In 1992, Kool G Rap used Joe Williams' "Get out of My Life Woman" in his classic cut "Ill Street Blues;" then, nearly a decade later Jill Scott used the same sample in the song "Brotha" featured on her seminal neo-soul debut Words and Sounds: Vol 1. Landmark tracks from Brand Nubian ("Punks Jump Up to Get Beat Down"), De La Soul ("Bitties in the BK Lounge"), and Lox ("Get This $") all feature a groove from Lou Donaldson's "It's Your Thing." A Tribe Called Quest used Jack McDuff's "Oblighetto" in their smash "Scenario." As recently as 2001, Dr. Dre sampled David McCallum's "The Edge" in the infamous cut "The Next Episode" which featured Snoop Dogg. The list continues, with Biggie Smalls' "One More Chance" remix and Mary J. Blige's "Everyday It Rains" featuring a sample from Lou Donaldson's "Whose Makin' Love." Blue Note's influence has even been felt in the pop world where Madonna used a Lou Donaldson sample ("It's Your Thing") in her song "I'd Rather Be Your Lover," as well as a sample of Grant Green's "Down Here on the Ground" in her song "Forbidden Love."

On Feb. 12, the day of release, J Rocc from the World Famous Beat Junkies will throw down at the Apple store in LA (3rd St. Promenade), and Ali Shaheed Muhammad from A Tribe Called Quest will DJ at the Apple store in NYC (Soho). With liner notes by Ahmir ?uestlove Thompson of The Roots and artwork by Jeff Jank of LA's Stones Throw Records, 'Droppin' Science' is clearly a labor of love by the hip-hop community and connoisseurs alike, paying special tribute to some of the most referenced and revered music of the 60s and 70s.