Sampled: Cortex

Soaring choruses, lilting rhythms, honeyed arrangements—the French jazz-funk group Cortex's records are like manna to hip-hop producers. Recorded in the '70s and long out of print, the band's catalog was once a crate-diggers' secret, but as rappers like Jeezy, Rick Ross, and Lupe Fiasco have popularized their billowing brand of soul, Cortex have become synonymous with hip-hop at its most opulent.