The Benefits and Pitfalls of Sampling, Interpolation and Intertextuality in Modern Music

Art itself cannot be made within a void space, with inspiration arising from our external reality and experiences alongside our internal landscape. When assessing the current popular music landscape, a clear trend appears, with sampling (taking direct inspiration from others), becoming more commonplace.  

Key Definitions: 

Music Interpolation: The use of 5 or more sequential notes from an existing recorded song to create a new track. 

Music Sampling: Sampling in music involves taking a section of audio from another source – in this instance, an existing song – and then reworking it into the creation of a new track. 

Music Intertextuality: As with literature, intertextuality is utilising an existing narrative or narrative element (such as a specific character) from any humanities medium to create a track or album about.  

Brief history of interpolation, sampling and intertextuality: 

Historically concerns with interpolation and sampling were not at the forefront with laxed or non-existent copy right laws. Classical composers would see it as flattering back in the day to utilise pastiche, borrowing from their predecessors. Within the context of the past 60 years, as sampling is a core tenant of rap and hip-hop music it is important to touch on the first rap song that reached commercial success created by The Sugarhill Gang titled ‘Rappers Delight’. This track was later sampled cross genre with its baseline notably present in popular the disco song ‘Good Times’ by Chic. Copyright laws around recorded music became more stringent in the 1970’s  feeding into the current discourse around levels of interpolation, sampling and giving the appropriate credit. We could also argue that this discourse is more common than ever with more mainstream popular music artists utilising interpolation and sampling to a greater degree than in the past; moving from something that was almost exclusively utilised by Rap and hip-hop artists and brought to the forefront of the cultural lexicon (with the popularity of ‘pop music’).   

Key examples of Interpolation, Sampling and Intertextuality: 

The sense of familiarity when employing in particular interpolation and sampling can be either a resounding factor in the popularity and success of a track or the reason for its inevitable misalignment with modern listeners. A notable example of successful sampling and intertextuality is in the track ‘Gangsters Paradise’ by Coolio and L.V.  This track samples ‘Pastime Paradise’ by Stevie Wonder and utilises intertextuality by quoting a line from the Christian bible, recontextualising the meaning from the passage in Psalm 23:4.  

A more modern example is the track released in 2025 titled ‘Anxiety’ by Doechii. This song samples ‘Somebody that I used to know’ by Gotye, featuring Kimbra. The original song expresses the anxious and destructive disillusion of a relationship. This sample, taking in the original context, can be seen as furthering the narrative from an individual perspective, the mental toll and fallout from the end of a relationship and the self-doubt common amongst those individuals post break up.  

A clearly outlined interpolation released in 2025 was by Taylor Swift on her album, ‘The Life of a Showgirl’, with the song ‘Father Figure’. Swift interpolates George Michaels track of the same name; the interpolation clear in the chorus of her track. Though interpolation is a small fragment of an existing track it is clear Swift considered the meaning behind Michael’s original before utilising interpolation and titling her track the same way.  

An example of a poorly executed sample is the track ‘I'm good (blue)’ by Bebe Rexha and David Guetta, a sample of the song ‘I’m Blue’ by Eiffel 65. It could be classified in this way as it doesn’t further the original narrative or themes of the track. Sonically it derives from a similar genre of dance pop, but the original song highlights the monotony of daily life being painted ‘blue’ a euphemism for sadness or depression. ‘I’m good’ fails to have a clear purpose and ultimately can be seen as only sampling the Eiffel 65 track as a way to feed into nostalgia.  

In the opinion of this author, a modern track that alludes to and makes clever intertextual references is titled ‘Matilda’, by British pop music artist Harry Styles. Styles clearly takes inspiration from the Roald Dahl classic of the same name. He infuses biographical elements into the track whilst making clear parallels between his friend and the neglected character of Matilda. Without the listeners having any knowledge of book, they can still understand the narrative Styles is aiming to convey, however with the added context of knowing the Dahl story, it bolsters a listener’s understanding, allowing for greater appreciation. The same can be said for the 80’s track by Dire Straits titled ‘Romeo and Juliet’. Having the general cultural understanding of what eventuates in the Shakespeare play feeds into the understanding of the parallels the band makes between characters in the play and the real-life relationship dynamics.  

Final Thoughts: 

In order for interpolation, sampling and intertextuality to be received well by the public an artist needs to consider the purpose behind their use of another artists materials. Without directionality and proper crediting, many artists will fall into the trap of referencing a work that either nobody understands or a work that does not add value to the new song.  

---

References: 

Cox, Catherine. “Mixing and Mastering: The Art of Interpolation.” The Argo, 2024, blsargo.org/5353/ae/mixing-and-mastering-the-art-of-interpolation/. Accessed 2 Nov. 2025. 

Central Music Institute. “What Is Sampling in Music?” Central Music Institute | the Most Revolutionary Music Education School in the World, 2025, www.centralmusicinstitute.com/blog/what-is-sampling-in-music. 

Edney, Connor. “Origin of Sampling: History of Sampling Music.” RouteNote Create Blog, 16 Sept. 2021, create.routenote.com/blog/origin-history-of-sampling/. 

Kostka, V., Castro, P.F.D., & Everett, W.A. (Eds.). (2021). Intertextuality in Music: Dialogic Composition (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003092834 

Lang, Courtney. “World Music Day 2024: The History of Music and Copyright.” Copyright Alliance, 20 June 2024, copyrightalliance.org/history-music-copyright/. 

“Psalm 23:4 NIV - Bible Gateway.” Www.biblegateway.com, 2011, www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2023%3A4&version=NIV. 

Shakespeare, William. “Romeo and Juliet.” Www.folger.edu, Folger Shakespeare Library, 1597, www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/romeo-and-juliet/read/.