Skull Snaps Skull Snaps

Skull Snaps (1963-1973) is known for their mysterious origins and the anonymity of their members, with the identities of their members being unknown for most of their career and long afterward. Until 1970 they were known as The Diplomats, and released a number of singles with some success. Renamed Skull Snaps, they released an eponymous album on the small GSF label in 1973 before suddenly disappearing.

In 1989, hip-hop artist Stezo first sampled the opening drums from their song, "It's a New Day" on his work titled, "It's My Turn". Since then, the now-familiar opening drum pattern of "It's a New Day" can be heard on songs by well-known acts such as Ol' Dirty Bastard, Das EFX, DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, Eric B. & Rakim, Digable Planets, DJ Shadow, Rob Dougan, Stabbing Westward, the Prodigy, Panjabi MC, Suprême NTM, Linkin Park and others, many of whom sampled the drum pattern directly from the Stezo track, as he let the sample run "naked".