Hello hello! Here are 10 of my favorite songs I produced that were released last year. The download link and track listing are below. Thank you for your support and I hope you enjoy!
Tracklist, behind-the-scenes commentary and download link after the jump.
“The Long Way Home” Kris Kasanova
This was the first track I gave Kris and 24 hours later he came back with the vocals the way you hear them. I had to redo some of the track ‘cause he turned it up on me pretty hard. Lyrically the song is very visual, so I really wanted that to come across musically. Josh Baker did an amazing job on the trailer. He totally understood Kris’ mind state.“Can’t Stay Away” Faith Evans f. Keyshia Cole
My friend Taurean Casey sent Atiba Newsome some tracks to write to and this was one of them. The story goes that he was writing to the track in L.A. and called Faith asking her to lend her writing skills to it and she ended up falling in love with the track. Couple weeks later, she was in New York and wanted to meet up. She came through the studio and we hung out playing joints. I didn’t know she had brought a reference with her and I was floored. Few months later, I get a voicemail from Faith as they’re recording Keyshia’s vocals. Every producer has a list of artists they have to work with and Faith was definitely on my list… amazing artist, and songwriter. No one bridges R&B/church harmonies like her.“Cheers” Kris Kasanova f. Sunny Jones
One day Kris and I were talking about how every artist goes through times where the people close to him or her don’t believe in them. Needless to say, it’s a lot easier to shrug off doubters when you don’t know them. Fast forward a few days and I had the track and the chorus. I didn’t like the way I sounded on the chorus (I never do) and decided to hit the homey, Sunny Jones. He always sounds smooth and with those lyrics, I don’t think there could have been a better fit. Shyvonne was in the studio that day recording “Weekend” so we asked her to add some vocals.“Good Days, Good Nights” Chris Faust f. Capri and Carras Paton
This was a complete fluke. Chris, his boy Jay, Capri, and our friend Sammy were at the crib and Chris and I had just finished another song. At this point, we’re finishing up our Iffys (Pacificos) ‘bout to head out, when I decided to make another track on a whim. The drums, main keyboard riff, and bass line were knocked out in about 15 minutes and Chris nailed the flow. Chris had the idea for the chorus and Capri wrote a dope melody. Chris also had that horn idea in his head and asked Carras Paton to come in and put his own flavor on it. About a week later, I expanded on Capri’s melody and wrote the chorus you hear now. I didn’t love “Another euphoric moment in life” at first but the way Capri sings euphoric sold me.“Break Up” Kris Kasanova
WARNING: THIS CAN GET CONFUSING.
Alex Haldi brought this crazy beat to Kris and he recorded this over it. We knew eventually we’d want to sell “The Long Way Home” and it wouldn’t work with a beat we were almost sure we couldn’t get legitimately. This track was left on pause for a while until Kris asked if I could redo the song. I listened to the a cappella a few times and it didn’t give me the same feeling as the original instrumental so I knew I had to completely flip it. I started with the drums and then realized I already had this track that would fit perfectly. I had given Chris Faust the track with a chorus a long time ago in hopes of getting a certain singer (who shall remain nameless) on it cause her style is very unique. Once she flaked out, it went to the graveyard ‘cause she’s really one of a kind. I sped up the track 2 bpms and it just clicked. Still didn’t have a chorus, so I switched up the old chorus and had my Aussie friend Tanya Lam (who had never recorded before) record the chorus cause I knew her voice would fit perfectly.“Need for Speed” (Extended) Mickey Factz f. Curtis Santiago
Ugly face. At this time I was living in the LES with Capri and our friend Jason Boehmig. I hopped out of my room to grab something from the fridge and Jason was standing there with the ugly face. Out of all the beats I made in that apartment this was the only one (from my perception) that had that effect. I sent it to Mick and he really liked it. We went back and forth via email with notes and it came out really crazy. I really liked what Curtis Santiago and Mikey (his production partner in “The Skullcrushers) did. About a month or so later, he sends it back with new verses so I went back and changed a few things. He didn’t like the stuff I changed and he decided to run with the version you’ve already heard. This version is the one I sent to him.“Maniac” Curtains f. Kendrick Lamar and Chace Infinite
I had that beat for a little while and recorded a really dope chorus to it. Played it for some people and every time it was “That joint is crazy but it’s a little too WestCoasty for me.” I really wanted a particular rapper (who shall remain nameless) on it and sent it to his peoples. The response I got was “It’s too live sounding. He doesn’t like that live sounding shit.” Taurean wanted to send it to Curtains and it was one of those “Why didn’t I think of that?” moments. Few months later, Kendrick Lamar and Chace Infinite jumped on it.“Fucked Up” Kris Kasanova f. Ibe
Originally, this was for someone who might be getting on the remix. Chorus was done, easy lay up. I sent this to Kris ‘cause I knew his voice would sound good on it but I wasn’t too sure about him being on the track… that was until I heard his flow on it. Capri’s “Ooohs” on the second verse killed this. That’s me on vocals and Sunny Jones with an assist.“Get Down” Marcus Harmon
I had spoken to Marcus a few times via twitter since we’re both really into classic stuff but it took me a while to check out his music. That was a mistake. Taurean heard his stuff and told me we needed to work together so he set it up. I made this track the day before he came over ‘cause I usually like to have an insurance policy if the artist doesn’t like what I make on the spot. Within 15 min of us meeting, he goes to lay a reference down and freestyles all of the melodies you hear in ONE TAKE. 30min later, he had the words and 30min after that, the song was done. Pure talent.“Looking Back” Chris Faust f. Outasight
15 minutes. That’s about how much time I had to make this track. Chris, Sunny Jones and I were working on ExtraOrdinary for “Faust” when Chris said Outasight was in the neighborhood and down to do a joint. He came through, knocked out the hook and verse promptly, and Chris wanted to take it home and work on it. I was like “Fam, I didn’t just get extra pressured to make a track in 15…” and Outasight was like “I didn’t just write AND record a chorus and verse on the spot…” (all in good fun of course). Chris did his thing, wrote a verse and recorded it. Capri came to the spot as we were finishing up the song. She heard some harmonies and put ‘em down. After that we cracked jokes, listened to some tunes Outasight had ready for “Further” and talked about the Knicks for a few.
DOWNLOAD: Ibe & Homeskool Presents – 10 From 10
