Strings

Its hard to sample orchestral sounds in hip-hop, especially those not from R&B or Soul tracks, without the track pigeon-holing itself. Too many artists have used operas and the like to make themselves sound "epic", often sounding cartoonish instead. So when I hear a track that uses strings well, with a light hand, I tend to appreciate it. Freddie Gibbs' first mix tape has a track that fit this bill incredibly. It smartly avoids the fullness that an orchestra can produce, sampling a single violin run in such a way that it seems strange, rather than classical. Compare to Gucci's "Classical", a good song, but not nearly as thematically subtle as the first.