American rapper Eminem has used a sample from "Land of Milk and Honey" by Mouth & MacNeal for his track "Lucifer", taken from his latest album "The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce)", released on July 12th.
Luv's creator, Hans van Hemert, produced and co-wrote the Greek-inspired pop track "Land of Milk and Honey" with Andres Holten (of the duo Sandra & Andres) in 1971. This song appeared on the B-side of Mouth & MacNeal's signature single "How Do You Do?", a chart-topper in the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, and New Zealand, a Top 5 hit in Canada and a Top 10 hit in the USA (where it sold 1 million copies and went gold).
Mouth & MacNeal - Land Of Milk And Honey (1971)
Eminem's "Lucifer" (featuring Land of Milk and Honey's melody) has already been streamed over 8 million times on Spotify since the album’s release on Friday.
Eminem - Lucifer (feat. Sly Pyper) - 2024
"It’s the icing on the cake," Hans van Hemert told broadcaster NOS. "I didn’t think much of the song then. It wasn’t really hit material and had a catchy Greek melody. I have always liked to use exotic instruments, a bouzouki in this case," he added.
Hans appreciated the possibility that Eminem's producer, Dr. Dre, might have remembered the tune from his childhood.. His publishing company is constantly touting his music collection to the international music industry.
"But it can’t be all coincidence", Hans joked. "Mouth and MacNeal is M and M, which sounds a bit like Eminem. Roel Smit, Mouth & MacNeal's fan club administrator, was a roadie for Margriet Eshuijs, whose band was called Lucifer," he explained.
This sample is not going to make him rich. “It’ll be €10,000 at most, and I’ll have to share it with eight others,” he said.
Today's edition of De Telegraaf, Holland's most-read newspaper, features an article about this subject in its "Culture and Media" section.
Source: NOS, DutchNews, RTL Nieuws, De Telegraaf...
Comments