Props to the homie for having more Grammies than he has sold songs. Very happy to see him win but I have to admit, him winning over Kanye ran a few thoughts through my head…
How did Kanye react to losing Best Rap Album to Chance?
A. He texted/called Chance and left and endearing message
B. He cursed out whoever was with him at the time and claimed to own Chance AND his newly acquired Grammys
C. He gave no fucks and continued to do whatever he was doing
D. He hit the studio to record/produce something to make a cultural impact sometime in the future
E. He made the below face
F. A and D
G. B, E, and D
Forreal though. We are now in a world where powers, thrones, and crowns are transitioning gradually. I’d be damned if every minute of it wasn’t exciting to me though.
On a Monday night I don’t typically do too much; I’ll go home and work on music or write for the blog. A paid job to an unpaid one. But this past Monday night I beelined from work out the door and impatiently waited for a lyft to take me to Cambridge.
I patted myself down in the the crisp Boston air to make sure I had everything I needed: wallet, phone, keys, hand recorder, headphones…. fuck. I left my headphones on my desk.
‘Oh well..’
I thought to myself, if I really need them I’m sure someone else will lend me a pair.
20 trafficky minutes later I found myself still in traffic. I thanked the driver and got out to walk the rest of the way. I walked past two tour vans and turned my gaze to the one with an Oregon plate to find some tired looking bodies past my own reflection. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about knocking on the door and introducing myself then and there but I didn’t want to ruin any pre-show rituals or prayers. If I were that far from home and fighting a cold on the night of a performance I wouldn’t want any surprise visitors coming to check out my already cozy quarters.
Chris Calor in the van. shot by @forrestjaqua
I walked past the van and towards the venue to find myself about 15th in line for the meet and greet event. The more shows I go to the older I find myself in comparison to the crowd. Again, oh well. The girl in front of me looked up who’s playing the show on her phone and told her friend she found him cute. Iz-eye-ah? The kids behind me thought out loud about how to pose for their pictures and mourned the lack of couches in what they thought would be an intimate meet and greet. Instead we were all in a line that looped itself past will call, down the hall, to the right, past the coat check and into the main room preceding the venue. Anyone who’s been to The Sinclair knows what I’m talking about.
Although I felt old compared to most of the fans I couldn’t beat the heartwarming father who had seemingly taken his young son to the event. My mom would never have taken me to meet a rapper.
Eventually Isaiah Rashad showed up in an Adidas clad outfit looking radiant and worry free. Very unlike someone that’s been on the road for a few weeks. The line slowly mulled along as I watched his interaction with each and every fan that came to support him. Isaiah followed the lead of the fans as they determined just how intimate the interaction would be. Some shy kids tried an awkward handshake, got their poster signed, picture taken, and then left. Others screamed and hugged him almost too hard as they soaked up the warmth from Isaiah’s generous smile. If it weren’t for his manager, Matt Miller, they would’ve stood there talking for well over their allotted time slot. This whole time I’m giggling at the funny encounters and watching from maybe 10-15 feet away. Now and then Isaiah’s eyes met mine and I wondered what he was thinking. Maybe he did the same.
I got to the front of the line and greeted Zay. I told him I’m a fan and to keep up the good work as we squared up for a picture.
Cambridge 1.30.17
Matt took our picture. Then I told Isaiah that in between student loans, bills, and an expensive music habit I had forgotten to buy a ticket to the show itself. I offered him 20$ then and there to get me into the show. Little did I know that the meet and greet line spat us fans out into the main venue area. But anyway Isaiah listened to my plea and then said ‘Sure man. Let me talk to Matt.’ He called over Matt, the manager, and they both agreed to add my name to a list. Eternally gratefully I shook his hand again and wished him luck at the show.
The Sinclair is a great and intimate venue. Getting to the stage is easy and the balcony is plenty close to the action as well. At this point it was only 6:15 and the show didn’t start until 7:30.
I wandered away from the young crowd swarming the vacant stage and noticed Chris Calor standing next to a wall watching the meet and greet. After telling him I’m a fan and asking some production questions he pointed behind me and said ‘D. Sanders right behind you, man.’ I turned around and quietly surveying our encounter was D. Sanders, a fellow producer to Chris Calor and a main producer for The Sun’s Tirade. We exchanged some pleasantries as well.
D.Sanders – TDE ScHoolboy Q Merch
The show started with TDE’s Lance Skiiiwalker crooning to the crowd off of his 2016 album Introverted Intuition. The crowd started to vibe with him as he danced about the stage with rope lights wrapped around his microphone stand.
Next went Jay IDK who spit fire emojis from behind a Reagan facemask. His claim is to be Ignorantly Delivering Knowledge. I got a vibe similar to Kendrick’s message in ADHD –
we never do listen / / Unless it comes with an 808, a melody and some hoes
Then came the headliner, Isaiah Rashad. He played an energetic set and captivated everyone with his rapping, singing, and dancing. Seriously, if you’re reading this you should go see him.
The show ended and the crowd cleared. Another crowd started up in the same room as the meet and greet but this time circled around the merch tables that had been recently set up. I thought about buying some of the merch when I noticed D. Sanders selling the merch himself. I waited patiently for the crowd to funnel out until all that was left was me, D.Sanders, some security, and some girls trying unsuccessfully to get backstage.
We exchanged pleasantries again as I reintroduced myself and asked for his time. He was more than happy but had to consult with Matt first. I watched as he shimmied out from behind the table and over to Matt who was managing the second meet and greet of the night. After some motioning they both looked over in my direction and I smiled back at them while waving my hand recorder. Matt gave a subtle, approving head nod and D.Sanders came on over to talk.
We made ourselves comfortable in the plastic chairs behind the merch tables. I started to fumble with my hand recorder:
Neel: There we go. Think it can hear us now. Oh.. Check, check, check. Check, check, check..
Sorry.
D.Sanders: Nah man – you good. You do your thing.
Neel LAUGHS
This is Neel from the Neel Show and we’re with?
D. Sanders.
And what do you do?
I’m a producer, engineer, and dj.
He’s most recently featured all over The Sun’s Tirade – Isaiah Rashad.
On four tracks off The Sun’s Tirade Des, aka D. Sanders, shares production credit with only 1 other producer. You don’t see that much these days. More frequently you find 1 powerhouse producer with 3 or 4 other people and god knows who did what on the beat. Des is also the mastermind behind other hits like Heavenly Father and Smile.
How’s working on that?
It was a brutal two years.
2 years?
Yes. But you know, nothing of value comes easy so it was definitely worth all the struggle and everything.
So I gotta ask you about that – 2 years.. did you start at a certain date thinking ‘Alright this is for the next project’ or are you always just constantly creating and you know you have what you have and then Zay comes up to you at some point and you say ‘hey i got this but I’m working on these and these are some ideas.’?
How does it go for you guys?
We’re constantly working. Always working on something.. and then when we got kinda geared towards a project we were just focused on that I guess and then we thought it was coming out way earlier than when it did.
Yeah everyone was waiting for it.
Neel LAUGHS
Yeah It was just like we thought it would come out in 3 months and then 3 months turned into 6 months 6months turned into a year and so on. It was just.. just a constant process I guess.
And what was, if you can remember, the crowning moment in which you realized ’alright, this is a sound that we wanna adopt for this album. This project.’?
Des sat back in his chair and took a deep breath as he looked up searching for an answer. His cool calm made me feel like we were just 2 friends catching each other up on some significant life events. He leaned in closer to me as he found an answer –
Probably close to when he heard ‘4r Da Squaw’
‘4r Da Squaw’?
Yeah by Francis.
Mhm.
Homie FrancisGotHeat.
Yeah, he’s great.
He played that and I don’t know.. that’s probably the one song that just stuck around the whole like at least like a year and a half. It was the most consistent…so I’d have to say ‘4r Da Squaw’ for sure.
Nice. Yeah I saw a video of Francis recently when he was doing the beat battles with Wondagurl.
Oh yeah, yeah. I know exactly what you’re talking about.
Des LAUGHS
But his beats were banging.
He’s the shit! Yeah Francis is the shit for sure.
It was so funny. And I found out he was on that beat and I was like ‘Wow. That’s awesome’
Yeah. He’s tight.
Neel and Des LAUGH
That beat battle I referenced can be found below. It was FrancisGotHeat vs. Wondagurl. This was about 5 years ago. Funny how time flies and hard work pays off as the two producers recently shared production credit on Ab Soul’s Do What Thou Wilt.
—————————————————
So do you work with Chris a lot?
Chris..? Calor? Yeah. That’s like my brother. He’s my homie. Chris is just like Zay.
And how do you divide ideas/credit amongst yourselves?
Yeah, uh.. It’s more like if he has an idea I add onto it or if I have an idea he adds onto it. Other than that it’s just us two in the studio taking turn working on the beat.
Nice. And how many hours would you say you average in the studio… During the heat of the moment? You sleep there?
Easily 16-20 hours.
Neel WHISTLES
Wow. You get the food right there and back to work huh?
You get the food and sit in the studio… smoke.. get back home like 5, 6 o’ clock in the morning.
Yeah
And head back to the studio around 11.
And you’re still living in LA right now?
Uhhhhm.. I don’t know, I’m just kind of a nomad right now.
Nomad?
Yeah.
Cause tour life you’re everywhere for 4 months. You’ve got no home.
Yeah everywhere. Right before tour I was in Korea so..
You were in Korea? What were you doing there?
I was just signing with a label in Korea.
Nice!
Yeah so I was out there handling all that and then came back and then right into tour.
Des recently signed on with BANA aka beasts and natives. He comes from a Korean mother who met his father while he was in the air force and stationed in Korea. His mother taught him Korean from a young age and instilled on him a sense of Korean pride. We bonded over growing up and being interested in music while your mom shits on your dream. Thankfully both our mothers now support us.
Another name you might see on his social media accounts is his Korean name, Son Dae Hyun. Shout out to all my Korean friends from highschool and their moms that introduced so many wonderful foods to me.
How was Korea?
Korea was awesome.
What parts did you go to? I’m guessing like –
I was in –
TOGETHERSeoul
– Yeah
– the whole time yeah.
Nice
It was amazing.
Were they crazy for you guys over there? You guys do any shows or any pop ups or anything?
Uhhm. I dj’ed new years eve right at 12 o’ clock and then I dj’ed like the night before I left so I had hella fun.
Des SMILES
That shit was awesome!
How are Korean crowds? They turn up too?
Oh they love it. They loooove it. Hip hop is still such a new market out there so..
Yeah, definitely.
They loved everything. They loved every single song.
Its funny because I definitely feel like the KPOP is kinda coming over here. More people are like ‘that’s catchy – that’s happy. I like that shit.’
Yeah for sure.
And then hiphop over there.. They had that version of OG Maco’s U Guessed It called.. It G Ma.
Yeah It G Ma!
It really was interesting to think that Des is exploring and pioneering a subset of a genre that seems so commonplace to us here in the States. Feelings are communicated without language though, so I have no doubt that he will help build up the scene there. Same stuff, different language.
So yeah, how’s the future looking for you man?
It’s looking really good. As long as I just keep working. After tour I’m planning on going back to Korea for like a month and a half to work on my album.
In Korea? Shit. That’s awesome.
Yeah, come back and then just keep working on music. I’m working on music all the time so I mean I know that’s gonna remain a constant.
That’s awesome. That makes me so happy to hear.
Well thank you for your time man.
No, thank you, thank you!
Really appreciate it
Appreciate you, bro.
I have no doubt that whatever Des works on next will be great. At such a young age he’s already so driven and established in now 2 countries. His humble and patient attitude sets him far apart from his peers in the industry. Be on the lookout for his next project. You can be sure to find it on here.
I have mixed feeling about Travis Scott. I remember hearing him on Cruel Summer tracks like Sin City, where he has both a verse and production credit, and thinking ‘This guy sounds cool. I’d love to hear more.’ Fast forward to 2015 because I slept on Owl Pharaoh andDays Before Rodeo and I hear some tracks off of Rodeo. I fell in love with that album – it’s still frequently in my rotation.
As I do with any new artist I like, I started to read whatever I could about Travis Scott to try and understand where his roots were planted and how they had grown ever since. His come up story was great; he put out the video for Lights (Love Sick) and had just landed when he saw he had texts from T.I.’s camp inviting him to the studio. He then signed as a producer for G.O.O.D. Music and claimed Kanye helped him release Owl Pharaoh. He claimed Kanye helped him make beats for the album which is entirely possible but also very unlikely as Kanye was doing the whole becoming a father thing back then along with prepping to release Yeezus. The world may never know for sure but Travis does have an alleged history of stealing other peoples’ work.
His go to ad libs aren’t even original: ‘Straight Up’is something Future used first on a track called… well, Straight Up. The other one is from Gucci; La Flame is one letter off from La Flare. You do the math.
One part of being a fan in this day and age is being able to separate the artist from the persona. i.e a Kanye figure. As long as our generation is okay with lyrically sparse club bangers that make us feel a certain way I guess the Travis Scott’s and Young Thug’s will continue to be successful. Let’s get onto the music.
the ends – Prod by Evian Christ, OZ, Vinylz, Daxz, and WondaGurl
Travis says his original intention was to have Andre 3000 narrate the album similar to how T.I. did for Rodeo but when Andre presented him with a verse he didn’t question anything.
Andre outshines Travis but what else do you expect when you put one of rap’s GOATs on your intro track? To be fair only one person has managed to stay in the spotlight on their own track rather than forfeit it to a featured Andre – Kanye. On 30 Hours Kanye only has Andre singing on the outro. If there was ever a verse recorded to be added onto the track the world may never know. As always, the beat selection is great but the lyrics are pretty shallow. For a verse where you claim ‘this might be the verse that make ’em drop me’ you better drop some real bombs. Alas, no bombs were dropped.
Best part – Andre’s verse
way back – Prod by Da Honorable C.N.O.T.E., Chahayed, Mike Dean, Rogét Chahayed, Cashmere Cat, and Hit-Boy
The transition from the end of the last track into the beginning of this one is pretty smooth. Props there for sure. This opens up with a warm and familiar voice – Kid Cudi! Cudi doesn’t add much more than ambient moans (which is okay) so instead we get Travis doing most of the work. The lyricism follows the last song in that Travis touches upon some cool descriptive imagery and possibly deep subject matter but he never pursues it. I don’t think I’ll need to point this out on the rest of the album but it is important to note that it’s part of Travis Scott as an artist.
We get a few ‘firsts’ on this track; a signature Travis beat change and a Mike Dean guitar solo.
Best part – Travis’s flow on the track and the beat change towards the end. Beat changes are a brilliant way to introduce otherwise unfinished ideas that may not contribute anything to an album on their own. Tacked onto the end of a song they feel much more natural.
coordinate – Prod by CuBeatz & TM88
A nice motivational intro from Blac Youngsta leads into a pretty chill beat that seems to sample Bossed Up by Juicy J and Wiz Khalifa heavily. Hmm. No beat jacking as TM88 produced the other track and is listed a producer here but still, -5 for lack of originality. Still can’t help but bob my head to the beat.
Fantano rags on travis for his mumble rap hook but I can’t front – it actually sounds good! Travis’s flow sounds very similar to Drake’s on Cameras…
Best part – This video of Lebron jamming out to the song in his car.
through the late nite– Prod by CuBeatz and Cardo
Here it is boys and girls; the track featuring jedi master and young padawan. Can’t beat that classic Cudi moan.
Cudi takes the cake here by singing the intro, hook, AND the first verse! Things get acceptably weird on this track as Cudi raps the chemical names for DMT and LSD. The track continues with both of these melody cowboys singing the hook together and Travis interpolating Day ‘N’ Nite. He keeps it plenty weird when he raps ‘Stroke my cactus’. Like father like son I guess.
Best part – Cudi and Scott just having fun with it.
biebs in the trap – Prod by NAV
I posted about this video earlier so I’m glad we get to revisit the actual song. This song is an ode to cocaine. Not too much deeper than that.
NAV is an up and coming Toronto based rapper/producer. He’s a little under the radar right now in terms of who he’s affiliated with but all that matters is he’s doing well. This track bangs and accentuates the styles of both artists.
Best part – The wacky line from Travis ‘Tryna’ text my accountant//Ain’t no service in the mountains.’ Is he hiking? or camping? Insider trading?? WHY ARE YOU IN THE MOUNTAINS?! (I know it’s probably about living in the hills)
sdp interlude – Prod by Ricci Riera
For a guy that says he rarely drinks or does drugs here we are with a song in which the only lyrics are ‘Smoke some, drink some, pop one.’ The beat is cool tho as it samples Washed Out’s You and I and interpolates Madonna’s Lucky Star. I think this track would do better as an interlude if it were a few songs deeper into the album.
sweet sweet – Prod by Mike Dean, WondaGurl, CuBeatz, and Murda
A song about Travis having girl problems and the girl in question has a drug problem? Really minimalistic beat here that sounds very Mike Dean influenced given the synths and the guitar outro. Following the interlude track this one feels sleepy.
outside – Prod by Travis Scott, Nisi, OZ, and Murda
Travis collabs with 21 Savage on this one about being one of the boys and causing trouble. The beat reminds me of Pick Up the Phone with the island-esque steel drums. 21’s verse is actually pretty good and fun. He even plugs himself with the ’10 bad bitches’ line. Nice to feel the album pace pick up a little bit.
goosebumps – Prod by Yung Exclusive, CuBeatz, and Cardo
Probably my favorite track off this album and we still have 5 more to go! The beat is dark and eerie – really feels like a classic Travis song. Once the drums come in the whole thing really bangs. Sliding 808’s in the background add to the ambience along with Travis’s ethereal chanting. But we can’t show any disrespek to the feature on here..
K-Dot comes in HOT. We get classic conscious Kendrick with the wordplay and multiple personalities/voices. Hearing him over trap beats is a rare treat as he’s taken a jazzier route lately.
first take – Prod by Mel&Mus, Illa Jones, TEAUXNY, and Sy Ari da Kid
Gotta be honest I thought this was Chris Brown when I first heard it… This song serves as a great segue into Pick Up the Phone.
We get a cute ballad from Travis – seemingly the most emotion on a track this album besides the bromance track with Cudi. Pretty mature to say ‘Just let our love run it’s course’. Bryson Tiller’s voice adds a layer of buttery smoothness to this track as well.
Pick Up the Phone – Prod by Frank Dukes and Vinylz
Oddly enough this is the only song off the album with the title capitalized. Just an observation. Maybe something to do with Thugger.
This song bumps and was one of the leading singles for BITTSM. Steel drums on a trap beat seem to work here while Thugger, Travis, and Quavo trade verses about a girl who well, isn’t picking up the phone. The outro screams over-produced Mike Dean but it works in a weird way.
Some background on this track;
– it was featured on both Young Thug’s JEFFREY and Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight
– the name of the album apparently came from Quavo’s line ‘birds in the trap sing Brian McKnight’
– Travis put this up on his SC but was forced by his labels to take it down. Labels are evil.
lose – Prod by Mike Dean, Frank Dukes, Allen Ritter, and Vinylz
A pretty chill beat over which Cassie joins Travis as they sing about a luxurious lifestyle and insecurity about losing it all. The hook is about how Travis is steady with his crew but his girl’s not about it. There were some rumors about bad girl RiRi being on the track but being replaced after their romance fizzled out.
guidance – Prod by DF
..speaking of bad girl RiRi we get Travis’s attempt at a dancehall beat. It seems like once Drake did it everyone else had to? Or maybe this is him working through a possible Rihanna break up? Either way it’s not my favorite track but the melodies are good and it’s slightly catchy.
wonderful – Prod by T-Minus, Travis Scott, Boi-1da, and Mike Dean
Throwing this on the end of the album was the equivalent of writing the same paragraph twice on a school essay because you have to meet the minimum word count.
This was really new and interesting when it first came out but since it’s been nearly a year I don’t see the relevance of adding it as the bookend on this project. The weekend’s part was originally just Travis on an old soundcloud version but it looks like he wanted to add just one more feature. Not a very strong ending for me.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I like Travis Scott, the artist. Rodeo was great but I think that Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight trails behind it. Yes there are A-list features all up and down the album but I failed to see any risks taken or and paths paved further. Travis played this project relatively safe and it seemed to come off as a continuation of the same sound found on Rodeo, which is fine, but at a lesser quality. Hell, you could tell me that some of these tracks were B-sides to singles from Rodeo and I would believe you.
I can’t say that this wasn’t a fun project that tied together a lot of great and seemingly relevant artists because it was and it did. Although I haven’t seen him live myself I’ve heard that he is quite the performer. I just want Travis to make something past Rodeo. Maybe something darker, grittier? Maybe something with deeper lyrics? Guess we will wait to hear what’s next from La Flame.
The Neel Show 