Ralph MacDonald was a Trinidadian-American percussionist who played on hundreds of recordings as a session musician before recording as a bandleader. "Jam on the Groove" (1976) is a percussion showcase that draws on MacDonald's Caribbean roots, blending Trinidadian rhythmic traditions with American funk and jazz in a track that grooves with a loose, polyrhythmic feel.

The break's Caribbean-inflected groove gave hip-hop producers access to rhythmic traditions outside the standard funk and soul vocabulary. MacDonald's percussion expertise — honed through decades of session work with everyone from Roberta Flack to Steely Dan — translates into a break that's technically impeccable yet feels completely organic and alive.