Song Clearance Sheet
5 sources citedImpeach the President
Funk1970s95BPM
UnconfirmedKey
Tempo/key via Deezer →
The verdict
Documented Sampling History
A confirmed, contactable administrator (Tuff City Records) and decades of legitimate major-label clearance. The live, unresolved fraud allegation between Roy Hammond and Aaron Fuchs is serious, but it’s a dispute over how the rights were obtained — not the absence of a path to clear the sample today — so it lives in the Receipts, attributed strictly as Hammond’s own claim.
Sampled ~800 times · reportedly open to sampling
Used by independents?
Yes — used by Marley Marl, whose foundational productions on the independent Cold Chillin’ label helped make it a hip-hop staple.
Quick Facts
Released1973
AlbumImpeach the President (single)
GenreFunk, Soul
LabelAlaga Records
ProducerRoy Charles Hammond ("Roy C")
More infoWikipedia → · Discogs →
Who you need to ask
The current administrator — Tuff City Records — the confirmed, contactable entity for licensing today, regardless of the disputed circumstances
Wikipedia → · checked Jul 2026
The songwriter — Roy Charles Hammond ("Roy C")
Wikipedia → · checked Jul 2026
Has it been sampled?
Yes — sampled in close to 800 tracks (Tracklib and WhoSampled agree on the approximate figure), with decades of major-label clearance
Do they allow sampling?
No standalone policy found, but there is a confirmed administrator (Tuff City Records) and extensive precedent of legitimate clearance
Related Songs
Same album, answer records, and songs worth knowing about
1971 B-side — reportedly the same backing musicians, addressing Nixon on the Vietnam War
1991 — sampled the Honey Drippers' break (and O'Sullivan), at the center of a landmark lawsuit
Who Owns It
Licenses explained →The two permissions you need, and who holds them
The song itself (the writing)Roy Charles Hammond ("Roy C")
The recording (current administrator)Tuff City Records
Receipts
Every public mention of terms, policy, or past deals we've found
A live, unresolved ownership dispute — Hammond's own allegation
Roy Hammond has publicly stated, on his own website, that Aaron Fuchs of Tuff City Records fraudulently obtained ownership of the song's rights. This is presented strictly as Hammond's own claim: it has not been independently verified or adjudicated, and ClearTheSample does not assert it as fact. Tuff City remains the confirmed entity to contact for licensing today.
Kick Mag · read it →
A direct connection to a landmark sampling lawsuit
Biz Markie's 1991 "Alone Again (Naturally)" sampled both Gilbert O'Sullivan's original AND the Honey Drippers' break. The resulting O'Sullivan lawsuit became one of the most precedent-setting cases in sample-clearance history — yet Hammond was not a party to it and received nothing, despite his material being used on the same track.
Music Factory Number One · read it →
Hammond's own stated grievance, in his words
"You can do a computer search on 'Impeach the President,' and the results for how many times it has been sampled will come up in the hundreds. But I've gotten nothing in the way of mechanical royalties." Presented as his direct quote, not an independently verified financial claim.
Music Factory Number One · read it →
Can You Use It for Free?
How to check PD →Is it public domain?No
Sample History
~800
Times sampled
—
Covers
—
First flip
Big names who used itMarley Marl · Janet Jackson · Mary J. Blige · Frank Ocean · Dr. Dre · Kendrick Lamar
Who to Contact
TC
Tuff City Records
The confirmed current administrator — the practical, contactable entity for licensing today, regardless of the disputed circumstances
RC
Roy Charles Hammond ("Roy C")
The credited songwriter
What they'll chargeNobody's shared numbers yet
Don't Want the Hassle?
Sample something pre-cleared insteadCheck Tracklib →
Find a similar sound that's 100% freeBrowse the catalog →
References
Every source cited on this page — 5 in total
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Page history · 2 updates
Jul 2026Page created — full research (catch-up batch)
Jul 2026BPM/Key pending a separate manual keyfinder pass