We’ve all been there: a new hit comes on the radio, and you jump in, singing the lyrics—maybe a little off-key, maybe a little too loud. Then someone else joins in: Your mom. Your dad. Your grandmother. You pause, wide-eyed. “How do you know this song?” In that moment, you’re not just singing a chart-topper—you’re echoing a story that's been passed down in rhythm and rhyme.

With MOPOP’s upcoming exhibition, Never Turn Back: Echoes of African American Music, we invite you to live in that moment. We rewind the track and trace the lineage—from gospel cries and blues riffs to hip-hop beats and R&B hooks. If you’re the kind of person who’s always saying, “This lyric comes from… this song is featured in…,” then the exhibition’s sample interactive was made for you. Step into immersive booths and discover how timeless classics have been reimagined, reshaped, and reborn across generations.

Leading up to the exhibition’s opening, we press play on four original songs and their current counterparts. They carry history, resilience, and the hope of generations—and are a testament to the fact that Black musical expression isn’t confined to one era; but rather flows through them all. First up? Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s “The Message.”  

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Sample: “The Message”, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five (1982) for “Players”, Coi Leray (2023) 

"The Message" (1982)

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THE CREATOR: Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were pioneers of early hip-hop, known best for their innovative DJ techniques and fearless lyricism. As one of the first hip-hop groups to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, their influence on music and culture is both foundational and far-reaching.

THE SOUND: One of the most influential tracks in hip-hop history, “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five marked a shift in the genre—turning the spotlight from party anthems to raw social commentary about urban struggle and systemic injustice.

THE IMPACT: “Don’t push me ’cause I’m close to the edge, I’m trying not to lose my head.” These haunting lines became an anthem of frustration and survival, capturing the realities of life in neglected inner-city neighborhoods with a clarity and urgency that had rarely been voiced in mainstream music.

"Players" (2023)

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THE CREATOR: Coi Leray is a genre-blending rapper, singer, and songwriter, representing a new generation of Black creatives who both honor the past and redefine what’s possible.  

THE SOUND: More than four decades after “The Message” gave voice to inner-city struggle, Coi Leray’s “Players” flips its iconic synth and weaves it into a new narrative—one defined not by survival, but by celebration of self-empowerment and strength.  It’s a reminder that sampling doesn’t just borrow sound; it recontextualizes meaning, allowing artists to speak to their own moment while paying homage to those who paved the way.

THE IMPACT: Where “The Message” warned, “Don’t push me ’cause I’m close to the edge,” Leray confidently declares, “Girls is players too,” reframing the soundtrack of the streets through the lens of liberation, gender equity, and unapologetic presence. It’s a powerful example of how sampling can carry not just sound, but spirit—evolving resistance into resilience, and struggle into triumph.

Want to hear more? Tickets for Never Turn Back: Echoes of African American Music are available now. Don’t miss the opening party, Soul Train Revival, on May 16!