Power Jam was the first name under which German producers
Michael Münzing (
Benito Benites) and
Luca Anzilotti (
John Virgo Garrett III) were noticed for their 1990 Hit "The Power".
The first version of "The Power" was an amalgamate of samples. The beats were taken from
Mantronix's "King Of The Beats Lesson #1" (from their 1990 album "This Should Move Ya"), the vocals were taken from "Let The Words Flow" by rapper
Chill Rob G and from "Love's Gonna Get You" by
Jocelyn Brown.
The record became instantly popular in both Europe and North America. But the samples were all unauthorized. In Germany,
Arista Records had a deal with
Stu Fine, former owner of
Wild Pitch Records, but they didn’t have a deal for the US.
Chill Rob G consented to a US release (which he thought could be lucrative). But
Arista Records wanted to release it there too.
Since
Arista couldn't release the same single, they decided to re-record the whole track with new lyrics by rapper
Durron Butler AKA
Turbo B. and additional vocals by
Penny Ford. The samples were then all legally cleared and the song finally re-released under the new name
Snap!.