- Baby never really wants the same beat twice.
And I knew that early on.
You know I think whenever he gets on a beat
that I'm not expecting him to get on.
You know, I think that helps push
and inspire my creativity
because a lot of times rappers are scared
of these types of beats
'cause it doesn't sound like what they're used to.
So I really don't think I ever sent him
a Baby type beat honestly.
I first heard Baby on I think it was 979.
You know, I was working with some other artists
from Ohio that were in town and they came around
and paid him for a feature.
He walks in.
He was like, "Yo, who made this beat?"
He's like, "Oh yeah, damn,
we're definitely gonna work. Blah, blah."
He was looking for the sound that I was making.
You know, I knew how to make beats
but I really learned how to make music
like what an artist was looking for,
leaving them space and kinda like getting
that instant feedback of being in the studio.
I really learned that with him.
I was making this beat just like any other day.
You know I started with the guitar.
It was just a guitar like a nylon guitar from Omnisphere.
I didn't want it to be kinda like slow and sad really.
So, I was just thinking of ways
I could turn it up a little bit.
Same guitar sound but
each note is getting played individually.
So I've heard like people call it like broken
you know as they said, I broke the chords on it
which I thought I was kinda cool.
You know, I think it like hits you with something
you weren't expecting after the intro.
You know this part of the melody
is really well turns it up.
After I get the melody down,
I normally go to the close hats and the clap.
I start with like a simple two step pattern
all these roles and everything I added later.
Basic clap.
So I got like a tempo and a feeling.
Then I'll put beta weights on.
These in particular I just followed the root note
of the chords that I was playing in the intro.
Then I added some snares, to just kinda fill
in the gaps like in the second part of the hook.
When the snares come in, I added the open hat.
I layered the kick on the 808 but not on every single one.
It's not super noticeable but you know,
I think it kinda makes it
knock a little harder and just gives you
a little different feeling.
After I had the kick, the beats pretty much finished
but then I'll go back with all the sounds
that I've already used and I'll start manipulating them
and structuring the beat.
So the next thing I got added just a little layer.
It's the same guitar as an intro
but it's just a different sound
and like a little different strum that I put
and it only comes at the beginning of the two verses.
I always just like something when the verse starts
either changing a sound or manipulating the sound
a little bit, just so it gives you a clear picture
of where the verse starts and the hook ends.
So I layered that with just the guitar frozen
and I put RC-20 on it.
Everyone uses that too.
You know, I'm not super into rock,
nothing like that.
So, there wasn't any specific influence.
I probably just heard a guitar strum somewhere
down the line.
That's the first breakdown at the beginning of the verse.
And then at the end I put the clap in the same RC-20.
It just makes it seem like it's far away.
And then I also did it to the 808.
I put the reverse in the crash and just about all my beats.
It's a little stamp of where either the hook starts
or like where the beat turns up again, after the breakdowns.
Last thing I add on every beat it's my tag
and it all sounds like this.
Once I heard the final version,
I knew at least for me it was my favorite song
that I'd made so far.
See there's too many good parts of the song,
so I don't know which to pick,
but on Baby's it is gotta be probably the woos.
They hits the woos.
That's just crazy.
- Roddy's part, I knew as soon as I heard him
say suburban, I was like, "Oh yeah."
He's got his sound that is so unique.
And this is just raw talent.
This is just like the cherry on top of the song.
- The streams were crazy, right when it dropped.
It never slowed down which was crazy, it's cool to see.
For it to come together and be that successful,
everything has to hit at the right time.
The beat has to go,
the artist do the right thing to the beat,
the mix, like everything goes into it.
So, everyone played their role
and definitely did their thing.
You know, I get FaceTime and as soon as I open it up,
it's a Lamborghini logo and he's playing it and he's like,
"There's a platinum plaque for you right there."
Month later, he wasn't lying.