It comes from the 1969 track "Amen, Brother" by the American soul group the Winstons, released as the B-side of the 1969 single "Color Him Father".
With the rise of hip-hop in the 1980s, the Amen break was used in hits including "Straight Outta Compton" by N.W.A and "Keep It Going Now" by Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock.
[2] For the B-side, they recorded an instrumental based on the gospel song "Amen" and a guitar riff Curtis Mayfield had played for Spencer.
Spencer said he directed the break, but Phil Tolotta, the only other surviving member of the band in 2015, credited it solely to Coleman.
[2] In the 1980s, with the rise of hip-hop, DJs began using turntables to loop drum breaks from records, which MCs would rap over.
A number of releases in 1988 took it into the mainstream, including "Straight Outta Compton" by N.W.A and "Keep It Going Now" by Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock.
[5][3] It has been used in multiple genres, including rock music by acts such as Oasis, in commercials, and television themes such as Futurama.
[3] Producers have manipulated it by altering its pitch or speed, or re-ordering its components to mimic ghost notes or other effects.
[3][7] The journalist Simon Reynolds likened the situation to "the man who goes to the sperm bank and unknowingly sires hundreds of children".