Mountain were a hard rock power trio best known for the 1970 hit "Mississippi Queen," but it's the deep cut "Long Red" — from their 1972 live album Twin Peaks — that earned them a place in hip-hop history. The track features drummer Corky Laing playing a lengthy, hypnotic groove that's more funk than rock, with a heavy, loping feel that caught the ear of producers looking for something different from the standard breakbeat sources.

The "Long Red" break has appeared in tracks by De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, and the Beastie Boys, among others. Its rock origins and live-recording energy gave it a warmth and rawness that studio-produced breaks couldn't match.