The supernatural themes of Kids See Ghosts morph throughout the album. Kanye West and Kid Cudi act to reframe the societal perception of mental illness through the personification of their shackles and saviors as ghosts. After a full year of the album, we analyze how these two creatives came together to flip the script on […]
Anatomy of the Funk: G-Funk Deconstructed
G-Funk, one of the most iconic sub-genres in hip-hop history, was a defining chapter in the West Coast’s rise to become the hip-hop powerhouse that we know today. Although G-Funk enjoyed a relatively short-lived golden era, the producers and samples behind the classic West Coast sound remain as influential as ever. Music is never created […]
The Hard Reality of Snippet Culture: A Case Study
The way we consume music is ever-changing, becoming easier and quicker as the days go by. Snippets, despite their small size, have become a vital piece of an artist’s marketing process and one of the most complicated mediums to follow as a fan. This is a look into snippet culture and how it’s both helped […]
Behind Warren G’s Regulate… G Funk Era: Every Sample, Every Collaborator
The ‘G’ in Warren G stands for Griffin, but it might as well be shorthand for “G Funk”. Warren’s distinctive production chops and romantic vision of gangsterism made him one of the most indispensible voices of the G Funk era and, in the years since, they’ve enshrined him as one of the West Coast’s most […]
How J. Cole Flourished Under – and Ultimately Outgrew – Jay-Z’s Approach as a Label Head (ROTD 3 Preview)
J. Cole is changing before our very eyes. The infamous “no features”, self-reliant Cole that flourished under Jay-Z’s hands off management at Roc Nation has learned from his mentor to form a new mentality – far, far from his comfort zone. This new J. Cole is a label head first and foremost, sacrificing his own […]
How Earl Sweatshirt and Quelle Chris capture the Complexity of Human Existence through Art
Earl Sweatshirt and Quelle Chris use the contrast and inconsistencies in their psyche to create music that digs at what it truly means to be human. On their most recent solo albums, the two MC’s undertake a tandem journey to understand their own minds and how self-perception shapes the imperfect realities of being alive. Earl […]
25 Years of Illmatic: The Producers and Samples that Created a Classic
If 1994 is one of hip hop’s greatest years, then Illmatic is one of the richest cherries atop the proverbial cake. Whilst it might not have been the most immediately impactful of the year’s debuts, it still stands as one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time. We’re breaking down the samples throughout […]
How Curren$y Rose as the King of New Orleans, In His Own Words
Today marks the 38th birthday of New Orleans’ own Curren$y. We celebrate his born day by chronicling his path to becoming the latest king of the Crescent City. Happy Birthday, Spitta. Burn one for us. Curren$y cares about his legacy. The forefather of the fly doesn’t always make it clear, his nonchalant demeanor can mask […]
In Conversation: Where Did Solange’s When I Get Home Come From?
We sat down the two biggest Solange fans we have on the Sauce to have a conversation about her latest wave-making album When I Get Home. What follows is a conversation about the influences that helped craft Solange’s sound, the cultural roots of the album, and how her career has been building toward this project […]
How Kanye Made “The College Dropout” – Every Sample, Every Beat
It’s hard to imagine the world without Kanye West, and it’s hard to imagine Kanye West without The College Dropout. Fifteen years on, we’re breaking down the sampling on Ye’s triumphant debut and talking about the creation of a classic. Things were different in 2004: 50 Cent was a musical titan, Jay-Z had retired from […]
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