Know Your Amens From Your Apaches??

No? Well, the two are two of the most important breakbeats, ever, in the history of hip-hop and dance music.

Here's a history of the amen, so called because it originates from a 1969 soul record, "Amen Brother" by the Winstons. You'll recognize this six-second loop instantly, and this video exhaustively traces its history.

The length (20 minutes) and the narrator's sleepy-time voice might be offputting at first, but geeks for rare grooves will eat this up. -- Arielle Castillo