Carlos Santana Shares His Thoughts On DJ Khaled's Sampling Of 'Maria Maria'

"Wild Thoughts" is heavily influenced by the icon's 1999 hit.
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It’s been nearly 20 years since Carlos Santana made us fall in love to the sound of his guitar as we learned about Maria. But the essence of the 1999 hit was recently revived by DJ Khaled just in time for the summer.

Khaled dropped “Wild Thoughts” on June 16, featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller. The new single samples heavily from Santana’s own “Maria Maria.”

The Mexican guitarist and music icon gave his thoughts on Khaled’s single in a statement to Billboard on Tuesday.

“There is a reason that the infectious groove/theme that Wyclef [Jean] and I created on ‘Maria Maria’ still resonates today,” Santana told the site. “It speaks to the heart. DJ Khaled, Rihanna and Bryson take that vibe and bring it to a new dimension with ‘Wild Thoughts,’ but the groove and essence of the song is still intact.”

Khaled’s new single will be a part of his upcoming album “Grateful,” which is set to be released on Friday. As “Wild Thoughts” begins climbing the charts, some fans on Twitter have pointed out that younger generations may not be aware of the single’s roots.

Selena Gomez is another artist to recently sample from a classic in her new music. The singer’s new single “Bad Liar” uses the bass line from the Talking Heads’ 1977 “Psycho Killer.”

With Santana’s blessing on “Wild Thoughts,” now all that’s left to decide is who did it best?

Watch the two videos below and decide:

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