#DRAKE POUND CAKE BEAT PROFESSIONAL#

вЂњI was trying to go against the grain and get my own kind of bounce,вЂќ he says, вЂњI was thinking of something very simplistic for Drake to get some bars off, and I thought that was very much fitting.вЂќ On an album (and a general era) where most singles rode the strict 120 to 140 BPM of trap, вЂњPound CakeвЂќвЂ™s 82 beats per minute and prominent drums were almost a retro choice, intentionally harkening back to the sparse, late-night funk of 90s New York rap. ItвЂ™s a zero-gravity effect that creates breathing room, which is what Boi-1da wanted. The kick drum hesitates, and the momentary lack of snare on the upbeat allows the instrumental to billow like a vaporous cloud and hang there for a moment.

On the first bar the snare doesnвЂ™t hit on the second beat, but rather on the fourth, resuming a regular 2 and 4 pattern on the remaining three bars of the measure before repeating. The rhythm and composition flow outwards from GouldingвЂ™s voice.ДЄfter an easygoing, smoky intro sampled from a live record by jazz organist Jimmy Smith, вЂњPound CakeвЂќ proper begins with a heartbeat of percussion under the sample and keys. We donвЂ™t know what the original 'Pound Cake' beat sounded like, but Boi-1da rebuilding the new version around that sample-rather than letting it sit as an embellishment on top-gives the finished song its tightly composed feel.

#DRAKE POUND CAKE BEAT PROFESSIONAL#

So, I stripped it down to just the sample and added some new drum programming and got Matthew to play some new chords.вЂќ The producer skews from the elitist attitude of needing professional studio equipment at all times, crafting sounds for all devices and building hard beats to be played from earbuds and laptop speakers, and more recently home speakers like Apple's HomePod. вЂњI liked the idea a lot,вЂќ says Boi-1da, вЂњbut I wanted to change some things around. Speaking to Noisey over the phone from Toronto, ( *full disclosure: the interview in this article was provided by Apple) the man born Matthew Samuels says that вЂњPound CakeвЂќ (he didn't work on 'Paris Morton Music 2,' as that was mainly done by Detail) is the result of his tinkering with an instrumental sketch that fellow producers Jordan Evans and Matthew Burnett presented to him, which already had the unearthly vocal sample of Ellie GouldingвЂ™s вЂњDonвЂ™t Say a WordвЂќ present.

The songвЂ™s lush atmospherics and careful arrangement choices are key to its lasting appeal after five years, so who better to ask about said choices than its producer, Boi-1da? One thing is clear, though, the Drake that created songs like the Jay-Z collaboration вЂњPound Cake/Paris Morton Music 2вЂќ is gone, but thatвЂ™s fine because heвЂ™ll probably never be able to replicate that particular trackвЂ™s indefinable touch ever again. вЂњIвЂ™m UpsetвЂќ is the logical spot this approach would end up at, and Lord knows if Scorpion will follow that lane or the effervescence of вЂњNice for WhatвЂќ (rumour has it that itвЂ™s both). вЂњWorst BehaviourвЂќ showed us that Drake could be conceivably tough, and If YouвЂ™re Reading This ItвЂ™s Too Late rebranded him as a seething stunter, his Instagram-ready bars haunting bleak production. It is blunt and petty in ways that he has expressed before, not truly menacing but possessing an indignance befitting someone whose worst behaviour would probably involve suing the shit out of you rather than anything physical. It's about timbres, theory, chords (lots of 'em), and how these nerdy qualities make us feel things.ДrakeвЂ™s current single, вЂњIвЂ™m Upset,вЂќ tells us how he really feels. This is a column called Major Keys written by Phil Witmer, the only actual musician employed by Noisey.

Drake pound cake beat