What’s the piece of classical music in Mobb Deep’s Down For You?

6 January 2026, 13:20 | Updated: 7 January 2026, 14:42

Barber’s Adagio features in another new smash hit... and it’s not by Tiësto.

Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings has become one of the most sampled and reimagined classical pieces in modern music, particularly within dance music, hip-hop and trance.

And now it’s been used by New York’s Mobb Deep, one of the most successful rap duos of all time, in their latest single ‘Down For You’ featuring Nas and Jorja Smith, in a version the American composer may or may not have imagined when he composed it in 1936. Barber’s melody adds a certain depth and mourning to the hip-hop track.

The piece was originally written for Barber’s String Quartet, Op. 11. It gained popularity when he arranged it for string orchestra as simply Adagio for Strings, at the suggestion of conductor Arturo Toscanini. Barber also arranged a choral version of the work, the Agnus Dei, in 1967.

VOCES8: Agnus Dei by Samuel Barber

Where else has Barber’s Adagio been used?

The music’s cathartic feel lends the piece naturally to funerals. It was played at President Roosevelt’s memorial service in 1945 and at the funeral of Princess Grace of Monaco in 1982.

It has also been used in the film scores of The Elephant Man and Oliver Stone’s Platoon to capture the devastation of the Vietnam war and, with humorous effect, in episodes of The Simpsons, South Park and Seinfeld.

Read more: ‘Jaws’ movie theme named this year’s most unusual funeral music choice

Mobb Deep - Down For You ft. Nas x Jorja Smith [Official Video]

William Orbit’s electronic interpretation (first made in 1995) appeared on his 2000 rereleased album Pieces in a Modern Style. It was this version that became particularly famous via a Ferry Corsten remix and this introduced the piece to a new generation of electro-music fans.​​

Dutch DJ Tiësto’s significantly less chilled trance remake was released in January 2005 and adapts Barber’s original 3/4 time signature into 4/4, adding a pulsating beat, making it much more suitable for dance floors than burials.

But this version was voted by Mixmag readers as the second greatest dance track of all time and reached No.4 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales chart, becoming one of Tiësto’s signature tracks.

Read more: The 10 biggest tear-jerkers in classical music

Tiësto - Adagio For Strings

Why does everyone sample Barber’s Adagio?

So – why is Adagio for Strings, which is regularly voted one of the saddest pieces ever, so sample-friendly?

“It’s a complete journey,” says Anne Trygstad, sub-principal viola with the Orchestra of Opera North, who has played the music multiple times. “It transports you from a simple melody, firstly featuring scale material, but then using huge leaps in pitch to create great tension and pull.”

She adds: “I love when the cellos are playing the melody high and the violas are on the bassline. It’s the ultimate in the satisfaction of role reversal.”

Barber’s use of dissonances and resolutions in the build-up of long phrases help build the tension, says Trygstad. “The extremely loud climax finishes with such a cliffhanger, the listener is left suspended, I find I am unable to breathe. Then the gentle scalic melody returns, peaceful and calm – completely resolved and complete.”