VH1’s new TV series The Breaks debuted last night, continuing the story started in their TV movie of the same name. Although only one episode has aired so far, the show’s co-creator Dan Charnas has revealed the meaning behind each episode’s title.
While they may seem enigmatic, the titles actually have a very obvious connection to the title of the show: each episode title is a reference to a famous sample (or “break”) used in a classic hip hop song. Check out the breakdown below and be sure to catch The Breaks each Monday at 9pm EST.
Episode 101 - “Hard To Handle”
Named after the Otis Redding song “Hard to Handle,” which was sampled by Marley Marl on “The Symphony”
Episode 102 - “It’s Just Begun”
Named after the Jimmy Castor Bunch song “It’s Just Begun,” sampled by the Jungle Bros on “On The Run”
Episode 103 - “Blind Alley”
Named after The Emotions’ song “Blind Alley,” sampled by Big Daddy Kane on “Ain’t No Half Steppin”
Episode 104 - “Substitution”
Named after the Melvin Bliss song “Synthetic Substitution,” sampled by Naughty By Nature on “O.P.P.”
Episode 105 - “Amen, Brother”
Named after The Winstons’ song “Amen, Brother,” sampled by N.W.A. on “Straight Outta Compton”
Episode 106 - “Runaway”
Named after the Coke Escovedo song “Runaway,” sampled by T La Rock on “Runaway”
Episode 107 - “Under Pressure”
Named after the Queen & David Bowie track “Under Pressure,” sampled by Vanilla Ice on “Ice Ice Baby”
Episode 108 - “N.T.”
Named after the Kool & The Gang song “N.T.,” sampled by Nas on “NY State of Mind”