The 10 Best Soul, Funk and R&B Sample Packs

Soul and funk is the music that gets the people dancing. That’s why so much of it is sampled in hip-hop, pop and electronic—it makes people get up and move.

For interesting soul and funk rarities to sample in your music, we’ve compiled this list of the best royalty-free soul and funk samples.

You’ll find all kinds of loops begging to be chopped up in your sampler, from dancy funk loops, soulful arrangements to spine-tingling R&B vocals.

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Get ready to put some funk and soul into your next track.

1. Funky Solid Soul 2

Funky Solid Soul embodies everything you might associate with the neo-soul movement that took over pop in the late 2010s.

Get retro synth lines, crunchy percussion and sensual oohs and ahs to inspire your next neo-soul track.

Our favorite sample from the pack: 01 093 bpm

2. The Soul Cinema Vol 1

Low-key, dramatic horn arrangements that sound like they’re straight out of a Wes Anderson film.

The Soul Cinema sample pack is a great opportunity to find gritty horns and vintage recordings that evoke the golden days of art-deco theatres and soul’s formative heyday.

Our favorite sample from the pack: THE SOUL CINEMA SNIPS VOL1_When love Runs_120bpm_.Em

3. Soul Pack

Keys are the backbone of so much good soul music. Sure, vocals are often the focal point, but there wouldn’t be soul music without high caliber Rhodes, Wurlitzer or piano playing.

There wouldn’t be soul music without high caliber Rhodes, Wurlitzer or piano playing.

Soul Pack is full of keys samples that are ready to make a good base for your soul-inspired track.

Get sensual chords, tasty lead lines played by pro keyboardist Jon Solo at his Brooklyn recording studio.

Our favorite sample from the pack: gospel_wurlitzer_keyGMaj_95bpm

4. Soulful Pop Vocals 1

Everyone knows the most important of any soul tune is the vocals. Cutting up a catchy vocal hook sample into your neo-soul track is what you need to make your track pop.

Everyone knows the most important of any soul tune is the vocals.

In Soulful Pop Vocals you’ll find over 500 juicy vocal lines, ready to sparkle in over your next soul track.

Our favorite sample from the pack: 05 Vocal SP1 19 – 123 BPM – F#m

5. Songstress Sounds

One of the coolest genres to rise in popularity in the 90s was neo-soul.

One of the coolest genres to rise in popularity in the 90s was neo-soul.

The way it combines elements of pop and hip-hop production with soul-inspired vocals and arrangement made it incredibly interesting to experiment with.

In Songstress Sounds you’ll find samples that re-create the complicated chord structures, retro-synths and hip hop drum production typically associated with neo-soul.

Our favorite sample from the pack: SSS 02 Instruments+Bass 054bpm Dm

6. Soul & Hip Hop Drums

Soul and hip hop composition draw heavily on jazz. That’s why you should absolutely sift through jazzy drum samples and records if you plan on writing a funk or soul track.

Soul and hip hop drums is chock-full of great royalty-free jazz drum loops and samples—whether you’re looking for jazz drums, chord progressions or vocals.

Our favorite sample from the pack: 03_off_beat_ride_70bpm

7. Urban Made Piano Vol 1

Urban Made Piano is a highly-curated selection of 35 jazzy piano loops. The pack is perfectly designed for chopping up and sampling.

One listen through this sample pack will inspire you to make anything from hip-hop to a jazzy pop R&B track.

Our favorite sample from the pack: Urban Made Piano V1 86 – Gm

8. Dark Woods

Truly inspired piano loops are what you’ll get on Dark Woods. Find 50 perfect grand piano loops that evoke the sounds of soul, funk, jazz and even classical.

If you’re looking for a piano loop to inspire your entire soul, funk or R&B track, this is an excellent place to start.

Our favorite sample from the pack: Grand Piano 160bpm – Am – My Dear

9. Upright Bass 2

The bass is easily one of the most important instruments you need if you want to authentically recreate soul or R&B.

The bass is easily one of the most important instruments.

That’s because it’s a staple in jazz—the father of soul.

In Upright Bass, you’ll find pristine recordings loops of the classic instrument that are absolutely perfect for building the basis of the song.

Craft your next hit with a collection of over two million exclusive, royalty free hooks, loops, FX, vocals, beats and more. Try LANDR Samples

Our favorite sample from the pack: 18 Upright Bass UB2 17 – 118 BPM – E

10. Farnell Newton – Muted Trumpets Vol. 1

Soul and trumpet go together hand in hand. Whenever you hear something that truly funks you up, there’s probably some trumpet.

Get these incredible horn samples made by the legendary Farnell Newton and add some spice to your soul or funk track.

Our favorite sample from the pack: MilesTrumpet4_keyEbmin_70bpm

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Alex Lavoie works as a staff writer at LANDR by day and writes indie post-punk tunes in his band UTILS while moonlighting as drummer for folk-rock outfit The Painters.

@Alex Lavoie