Hottest Flips: Jay-Z Brass, 60s Blues & Rocksteady Reggae

Made With Tracklib

Hottest Flips: Jay-Z Brass, 60s Blues & Rocksteady Reggae

'Hottest Flips' is a new series to break down some of the best recently released flips using Tracklib samples. Featuring first-hand production insights by the beatsmiths themselves.

By

Tracklib

·

December 2, 2020

Datin - Who Do You Believe? (Prod. by Marty)

“I already knew I wanted a Jay-Z styled brass feel to the song, so it really was a quick flip.”

—Marty

‘Why Do You Believe?’ by Newark-based emcee Datin explores the post-truth world we live in these days, and how Faith helps him in what and who to believe. The track was produced by Marty (of Social Club Misfits), and flips a brass sample from the Tuff City archives.

“I’m a big fan of Jay-Z. One thing I noticed is that he loves brass instrumentation. I wanted to make something similar. Luckily, the filter section helped me narrow it down to only find brass samples. I started with chopping up a loop, then from there, I added a pad and vocal chops from Output. The sample sounded good without drums. I used some plugins from Soundtoys to give it a vintage vocal feel as well. The sample leads the track. I already knew I wanted a Jay-Z styled brass feel to the song, so it really was a quick flip. I slowed down, stretched, and then cut up the loop I liked.”—Marty

Beleaf - My Father's Business (Prod. by Ray Rock)

“I played the beat to a DJ friend of mine, DJ Pez, and he suggested we do a Kentucky bounce on the drums and we knew it was a banger.”

—Ray Rock

With tracks like ‘Family Is Foundation’ and a YouTube channel openly sharing the ins and outs of being a father of three, his new track ‘My Father’s Business’ blends in perfectly. Produced by fellow father Ray Rock.

“I was on my day off in Montana while on tour and decided to rent a loft with a friend (emcee Wordsplayed). I was inspired by the scenery and began to look through the library for blues samples. When I dig through a song for a sample, I like to listen to the entire song before moving on. What stood out to me about 'I'll Shed No Tears' by Dee Edwards and Mike A. Hanks, was the last twelve seconds. The singer’s riff and the pain in her voice resonated with me and I knew I had found something special.”

“I chopped up the sample and I found the vibe I wanted for the verses, and then added drums and a bassline. I let the beat sit on my laptop for a couple of days because I hit a creative wall and came back to it a few weeks later. I had a guitarist come in and lay some licks and from there I was inspired to finish the record. I played it to a DJ friend of mine, DJ Pez, and he suggested we do a Kentucky bounce on the drums and we knew it was a banger.”

“I was inspired by Kanye: he often uses a technique where the vocals of the sample hug the instrumentation of the track. For example, in ‘You Can’t Tell Me Nothing,’ he samples Keisha Coles voice in a scatting-like manner where the vocals sit in a call and response to the music. I also used a delay on the sample to cause the piano in the sample to sound the way it does.”—Ray Rock

Morgan Bosman - Til It's Over (Prod. by Hayden)

“There’s something about hearing a sample with the right vibe that’ll spark that instant creativity. That’s exactly how it felt when we heard ‘Two of Us.’”

—Hayden

Singer Morgan Bosman and producer Hayden were part of a program by Creatives Day Nashville, where they committed to having a collaborative session every other week. That seems to be fruitful, as “Til It’s Over” is the third time they released a collaborative track.

Hayden: “Man, the first time I heard the sample I knew it was the one. My long-time friend and collaborator Morgan Bosman and I were in the studio vibing and writing, and we started talking about dabbling into some reggae vibes. Since she and I both love and listen to a lot of reggae music. We eventually found ‘Two of Us’ by Peter Hunnigale, and like eight seconds in we knew that was the one we wanted to use. There’s something about hearing a sample with the right vibe that’ll spark that instant creativity, and that’s exactly how it felt when we heard ‘Two of Us.’”

“When we first heard the sample, we were gonna just create a rocksteady, reggae type of song. But then once I found the vocoder vocals I put on the track, I heard it immediately go into a dancey, Afrobeat-inspired type of groove.”

“I decided to run the portion that I looped through Izotope’s RX7 plugin in order to isolate the vocals. That way I could incorporate it throughout the entire track without competing too much with the rest of the instrumentation. It added just the right vibe to the production, and I have to give a special shout out to Tracklib for making the entire sample discovery and clearance process super easy and streamlined.”

Morgan: “We decided to go with this adlib that Peter sang in his single, ‘Two of Us.’ When toying around with the different ways this sample could sound, we settled on pitching his voice down in the key of our track, slowing down the speed of his ‘oh oh, oh yeah’ adlib. We ended up using it in our intro and in the hooks. Even though it’s quick and subtly used, I can’t imagine our song without it. Like Hayden mentioned, the sample acts as a loop in the hooks and really adds to the groove.”

Think you got what it takes to be picked for next month’s Hottest Flips? We’re looking for you. Share your new music with Tracklib sample(s) on Instagram, @ us and use the hashtag #tracklib.

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