Graham Central Station was the brainchild of Larry Graham, the former Sly & the Family Stone bassist who invented the slap bass technique. "The Jam" (1975) is a funky, exuberant workout that showcases Graham's virtuosic bass playing and the band's collective groove. The track stretches out, giving each musician room to play while maintaining a rhythmic foundation that never wavers.

The break's funk credentials — built on the innovations of the man who literally invented slap bass — gave it an authority that hip-hop producers respected. Graham's influence on funk bass playing is incalculable, and his recordings with Graham Central Station provided some of the genre's most sophisticated rhythmic source material.