I knew the Beastie Boy’s Paul’s Boutique is the apotheosis of sampling; now https://www.whosampled.com/Beastie-Boys/B-Boy-Bouillabaisse/samples/ lays out all 26 samples. You can also explore J Dilla’s dense samples on the site. It still feels strange to me that artists hear a sound they like and just put it in their record, instead of the Beatles learning the Bo Diddley beat; but hey if Lil Nas X can make $14M off YoungKio’s $30 beat built from an experimental Nine Inch Nails track and everyone gets credited (a good writeup), more power to them.
You can buy someone’s “Bill Evans Jazz beat” off Beatstars for only $29.95! It’s not terrible.
I would love a more general “What are the origins of this sound or lick?” musicology site. Song elements sound familiar but rarely can I put my finger on the source.
