An Indy soul singer's joyful reaction to his song's new life 50 years later goes viral

Fifty years ago, Herman "Butch" Slaughter beamed with pride as local label Lamp Records pressed the first vinyl copies of his soul group Words of Wisdom's debut single, "You Made Me Everything."

Though popular in the Indy area, mainstream success eluded the group. Slaughter made a life in his hometown, and he recently began moonlighting as the host of WFYI's "Echoes of Indiana Avenue" radio show.

The shock you see is genuine, then, when "Echoes" producer Kyle Long filmed Slaughter's reaction to seeing a modern music video for a rap song built around the Hoosier's 1971 track.

The modern song, "Made Me Everything," was featured on Nigerian-born Canadian rapper Tobi's 2020 album, "Elements: Vol. 1," released by RCA. After Long reached out to Tobi, the rapper posted Slaughter's reaction video to TikTok, where it was shared some 700 times and received more than 200,000 likes.

@sincerelytobi Thank you for the inspiration Herman. ???????? #sincerelytobi #sample #soulmusic #blacktiktok #blackmusic #fyp #foryou #hiphop #foryoupage #samples ? original sound - TOBi

"I'm just blown away," Slaughter says in the TikTok. "I just can't imagine the kids finding this music and making something out of it like that."

Tobi thanked Slaughter for the inspiration in the TikTok post. In an IndyStar interview, he called the video "already the highlight of my year."

"To see Herman not only acknowledge the song but be happy about how we approached it was beautiful," Tobi said. "It made me feel good about what we did. I would have been sad if he didn’t like it, actually. I was so moved by the reaction."

Tobi's producer, Alex Goose, played the original track and Goose's sampled version for the rapper.

"Instantly, I was pulled by the deep soul in the voice," Tobi said. "I grew up in the church choir so it felt very spiritual to me. I asked (Goose) to get on it right away."

The original Words of Wisdom track was featured on a 2019 compilation album of local groups: "It Glowed Like The Sun: The Story of Naptown's Motown 1969?-?1972."

Modern samplings of retro soul, funk and jazz tracks from Hoosier musicians are nothing new.

Prince, Kanye West, 2Pac, Snoop Dogg, The Beastie Boys and more have all sampled local music. Indianapolis group Funk Inc.'s "Kool is Back" has been sampled more than 500 times, from Jay-Z's "The Story of O.J." to Yes' "Owner of a Lonely Heart."

"Echoes of Indiana Avenue" chronicles the music and cultural history of The Avenue, Indianapolis' haven for great music and Black culture for most of the 20th century.

"We cover the spectrum of creativity in this neighborhood, not just funk and soul but from classical music and opera to the blues," Long said. "(The Avenue) impacted hip-hop in meaningful ways. The general public has only this fragmented sense of it, and we want to show the bigger picture."

Even a half century on from his initial brush with music success, Slaughter has never stopped loving or making music.

In 1976, five years after "You Made Me Everything," another single, "You're a Friend of Mine," was released nationally. A tour followed, which Slaughter remembered was cut brutally short by none other than the Godfather of Soul.

"We toured with James Brown until we got kicked off the tour," Slaughter said. "People were going crazy for us every night and then -- we got too popular for him."

Looking for things to do? Our newsletter has the best concerts, art, shows and more — and the stories behind them

Rory Appleton is the pop culture reporter at IndyStar. Contact him at 317-552-9044 and [email protected], or follow him on Twitter at @RoryDoesPhonics.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Tobi's "Made Me Everything" uses sample from Indianapolis soul song