20 songs that sample iconic movie scenes

In 2003, Jay Z released his eighth album The Black Album, which featured the song “What More Can I Say.” One of the things that makes this song stand out is in the beginning it features the “Are you not entertained?” monologue from Russell Crowe’s character Maximus in the 2000 film Gladiator. Jay then goes into boasting about his skills and longevity in the rap game. 

In 1995, punk rock band AFI released their debut album Answer That and Stay Fashionable. Not only does the album cover pay homage to the Quentin Tarantino film Reservoir Dogs, but the song “Kung-Fu Devil” uses dialogue from the film’s opening scene of a group of mobsters meeting for breakfast. 

In 1995, Raekwon released his debut solo album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… which featured the single “Criminology.” At the beginning of the track, the rapper uses dialogue from a Scarface scene in which the character Tony Montana argues with a drug affiliate. 

In 1985, pop singer Kate Bush released her fifth album Hounds of Love to rave reviews. The eponymous single opens the track with dialogue from the 1957 horror film Night of the Demon, in which actor Maurice Denham is heard saying “It’s in the trees, it’s coming!," during a séance. That line from the film helps set the song as Bush sings about love constantly haunting her. 

In 2012, rap duo DOOMSTARS, comprised of MF DOOM and Ghostface Killah, released their mixtape Swift & Changeable: The Prequel. On MF DOOM’s track “Beef Rapp,” the MC samples several films in the intro including Wild Style, Bowery at Midnight, and Logan’s Run. 

In 1999, pop punk band The Ataris released their sophomore album Blue Skies, Broken Hearts…Next 12 Exits, which featured the track “Your Boyfriend Sucks.” In addition to the lyrical content, the song features a scene from A Bronx Tale in which Chazz Palminteri’s character Sonny is teaching Calogero how to determine a woman’s seflishness based on a car door test. 

Just two years after rapper Wale released his seventh album Folarin II, he returned with his single “Max Julien.” The song is named after the actor who starred alongside Richard Pryor in the 1973 Blaxploitation film The Mack. In the middle of the song, Wale adds a scene from the film in which Julien’s character Goldie has a conversation with another character Pretty Tony. 

In 2013, rap duo Audio Push released their track “Shine”  which features a smooth sample of Janet Jackson’s 1997 single “I Get Lonely.” The sample is perfect as Audio Push also implements a scene from the film Friday, when Chris Tucker’s character Smokey tells Ice Cube’s character Craig that he has a date with a girl who claims to look like Jackson. 

In 1995, Wu-Tang Clan member GZA released his sophomore solo album Liquid Swords. At the beginning of the eponymous single, GZA adds dialogue from the 1980 film Shogun Assassin, before he goes into bragging about his skills as a lyricst. 

In 2014, rapper Mac Miller released his mixtape Faces, which featured the track “It Just Doesn’t Matter.” At the beginning of the track, Miller uses a speech from the 1979 film Meatballs, in which actor Bill Murray plays a camp counselor trying to rally his campers before a big competition. 

There’s no doubt about it that Scarface seems to be a favorite film among rappers. Drake is no different, as he used dialogue from Al Pacino’s character Tony Montana as the intro to his song “Daylight.” The scene finds Montana saying, “You don't have the guts to be what you wanna be / You need people like me,” which sets the song for Drake as he highlights how much he stands on business. 

In 2024, rapper 21 Savage released his third album American Dream, which was led by the hit single “Redrum.” Not only is the title in reference to the 1980 horror film The Shining, but 21 Savage also adds lines into the song outro in which Jack Nicholson’s character Jack Torrance attacks his wife. 

Jay Z and Kanye West took the world by storm in 2011 when they released their joint album Watch the Throne. One of the standout singles is “Ni__s in Paris,” not only because of the infectious production, but the song begins with dialogue from Will Ferrell’s character in Blades of Glory as he says, “We’re gonna skate to one song, one song only,” before the beat drops. 

In 1996, rap rock band Fun Lovin’ Criminals released their debut album Come Find Yourself, which featured their hit single “Scooby Snacks.” The band seem to be fond of Quentin Tarantino films as the song begins with sampling a robbery diner scene from Pulp Fiction, and then there’s two other sections that feature scenes from Reservoir Dogs. 

In 2017, DJ Premier teamed up with R&B crooner Miguel on their track “2 Lovin U.” The hook uses a brief reference to the film Friday as it samples Chris Tucker and Ice Cube’s use of the word “damn.” 

Fatboy Slim’s 1999 single “Right Here, Right Now” is a catchy tune with very few lyrics. However, the main lyrics of the song is built from a scene of Angela Bassett in the 1995 film Strange Days. 

In 2001, virtual band Gorillaz released their self-titled debut album, which featured the track “M1 A1.” At the beginning of the song, there’s lines from the 1985 film Day of the Dead in which a character is asking, “Hello? Hello? / Is anyone there?”

Rap collective Wu-Tang Clan has always been pretty dominant in how they use inspiration from films. In 1993, their debut album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) featured their song “Da Mystery of Chessboxin.’” At the beginning of the track, there are dialogues from two kung-fu films, Shaolin and. Wu-Tang and Five Deadly Venoms.

In 1999, heavy metal band Slipknot released their self-titled debut album, which featured the track “(sic).” At the beginning of the track, the band briefly adds a one-liner from the 1993 film Carlito’s Way in which Al Pacino’s character screams, “Here comes the pain.” 

In 1994, rapper Warren G came onto the scene with his debut single “Regulate.” The intro of the song begins with lines from Casey Siemaszko’s character in the 1988 film Young Guns as he says, “We regulate any stealin' of his property / We're damn good too / But you can't be any geek off the street / You gotta be handy with the steel, if you know what I mean / Earn your keep.”