Lyrics and Structure
- "The Breaks" repeats the word "break" (or any of its homophones) eighty-four times over six and a half minutes.
- There are six breakdowns (seven including the outro) in "The Breaks".
- There are no fewer than three definitions for "break," "to break" or "brakes" used in "The Breaks."
- Unlike most hip-hop songs which sample prerecorded funk, the funk beat in this song is original (contrary to some statements that believe it sampled "Long Train Runnin'" by The Doobie Brothers). It has, in turn, been sampled by many subsequent musicians.
- The tune was sampled in the 2005 reggaeton single, "Chacarron Macarron" by El Chombo.
Read more about this topic: The Breaks
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