A Shallow Dive Into....the infamous and ubiquitous 'Amen Break'

It's six seconds of gospel-funk drums you've likely heard all your life without knowing it.

In the vast landscape of modern music, there have been very few elements as pervasive, influential, and violently problematic as the Amen Break. This six-second drum solo, sampled from The Winstons' 1969 B-side "Amen, Brother," has become a music staple and a spectral presence haunting genres from hip-hop to various subgenres of electronic music. Its un…