8 Tracks: Of Juxtaposed Samples With Suicideyear

Music

It feels like New Orleans-based producer James Prudhomme aka Suicideyear has been around for ages, so I'm startled to remind myself that he's only just 22 years old. Since putting out his self-titled debut mixtape in 2012, he's developed a great deal as an artist, releasing on Oneohtrix Point Never's Software label while still keeping up a steady stream of celestial rap bootlegs.

Released earlier this month via LuckyMe, Prudhomme's new album Color The Weather marks the first time that he has specifically sought to create a complete body of work. Drawing inspiration from both local and online sources (Southern rap and avant-garde beatmaking respectively), his melodies and textures tap into a rich emotional current.

For his 8 Tracks selections, Suicideyear has chosen some of his favourite examples of "juxtaposed samples", hinting at the dualities that his own music thrives off. From Drake and Soulja Boy to Three 6 Mafia and Spaceghostpurrp, dig in below.

Color The Weather is out now via LuckyMe, order it here.

Lead image: Nick Vernet

LISTEN

Mac Miller Ft. Juicy J - Lucky Ass Bitch

I’m not a Mac Miller fan. When he worked with Lex Luger in 2012 for this song, he got blessed with one of Lex’s rawest beats. The sample is The Bird and The Bee – ‘Again & Again’ – but the way Lex chops it up on the instrumental makes a inoffensive pop tune sound haunting.

Mac Miller Ft. Juicy J - Lucky Ass Bitch

I’m not a Mac Miller fan. When he worked with Lex Luger in 2012 for this song, he got blessed with one of Lex’s rawest beats. The sample is The Bird and The Bee – ‘Again & Again’ – but the way Lex chops it up on the instrumental makes a inoffensive pop tune sound haunting.
Freddie Gibbs - Thug Psalms

A deep cut from Freddie with the cleanest sample of Anita Baker – ‘Caught Up In The Rapture’ – looping the first couple measures of Anita singing a beautiful harmony over a part that is ‘sonically’ different from the rest of the original song, making Freddie’s song have this sharp tooth grin effect if that makes any sense.
Drake - Wu-Tang Forever

A sample of Canadian producer Zodiac’s ‘Loss Config.’, this was the first single from ‘Nothing Was The Same’ if I remember correctly. and this instrumental hit me so hard as an 18 year old. The way the Wu-Tang vocals skitter and pan from left to right mix with piano that sounds like it’s from another life, all the while Drake is crooning for someone to spend the night with.
Soulja Boy - Country Boy

2011 will probably remain my favourite year for music for a long time. It gave me Main Attrakionz, Fruity Loops and a Soulja Boy song with a John Denver sample. The chromatic banjo added that makes John Denver almost sound nervous, and the spaghetti western whistle that comes in every couple times in the hook, makes this one of the most beautiful artefacts of 2011.
Three 6 Mafia - Neighborhood Hoe

Speaking of Fruity Loops, this is easily one of the five songs that convinced me to make beats. The title is pretty self-explanatory, but hearing all of this over one of the more innocent Jodeci melodies caused me frisson. To take such a sweet song and make it sound so menacing as a instrumental… Kudos.
Ludacris & Field Mob - Georgia

Probably the biggest example of juxtaposition in this list, Ludacris and Field Mob talk about keeping both eyes open and staying brave through trouble in Georgia while the scariest rearrangement (beautifully sung by Jamie Foxx) of Ray Charles’ ode to his love of GA – ‘Georgia On My Mind’ – keeps looping in a trance of loose keys and a sinister sounding string constantly rising up.
Spaceghostpurrp - Mystical Maze

I remember seeing something on Newgrounds way back in 2001/02 about sounds recorded from a hole in the ground of Siberia, and they claimed the sounds were actually from Hell. As a 6 or 7 year old it put me in my place and weened me off using the computer, but hearing this sound repeated throughout ‘Mystical Maze’ 10 years later almost gave me the same cold sweat, especially with the way it works the whirring melody into the crowd of noise.
Partynextdoor - Break From Toronto

Second song I ever heard by PND but easily became my favorite (next to ‘Candy’). PND describing his night out in the strip club and trying to convince a girl to take a break from the monotony of Toronto as a loop of Miguel singing “that smile on your face makes it easy to trust you” over such a well done beat was a easy peak moment of 2013 for me.