Vögue
My first creation as an engineer/producer. it came into being for a class project. At the time, i was simultaneously taking a speech class and had recently been exposed to Alfre Woodard’s moving performance of Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I A Woman?” speech. When my music assignment came along this speech became an immediate and obvious inspiration. I’ve looked at it a couple times since then, adding some wobble bass for dramatic effect and gradually improving the mix as my listening skills have improved, though for the most part this remains exactly as i created it then. For some reason certain tracks i am willing to completely upheave and others i am deeply reluctant to make any changes to. This just so happens to be an untouchable relic. You can view Alfre Woodard’s full unedited performance of Sojourner Truth’s speech, here:
Alfre Woodard Reads Sojourner Truth
The main topic of most songs I write eludes me for quite some time before the whole picture becomes clear. Such is the nature of lyrics with three, sometimes even four or more, distinct and intentional possibilities for interpretation. There is a massive collection of feelings that need intensive directing, but how that will ultimately take shape and what subject will become the prominent, central focus takes time to present itself. Unlike this typical model I follow, Make Them Moan was one of my first, concerted efforts to write with something highly specific in mind. It was also the first time I tried to fit words according to a melody rather than the other way around. Historically, the words *almost* always come first. From beginning to end, the time I put in to this track taught me a great deal about how to create movement and build energy in a song, and as attached to the words as I am, it too has become somewhat of a relic.
This track marks the birth of my Black Phantom album. My initial intent was to recreate a darker version of this song from an artist i love, Sickick’s “I Wanna Know.” The more i worked on it the darker it became and by the end of its production it had taken on a life of it’s own with additional lyrics and more personal meaning. The last two-thirds of it comprises an entirely distinct song presented on my Black Phantom album as “I Am King.” This track involved a great deal more experimentation with vocal chops, something I have always gravitated towards, and provided the foundation for much of what I sought after in developing Black Phantom — the concept of multiple characters, role reversal, both a male and female voice, heavy bass and floating vocals — all came from the making of this song. I am forever grateful to the original artist who inspired me so profoundly.
These words are the foundation of the third song I wrote. First came VÖGUE, then came For the Record, and then this. the emotion behind it eluded me for years, and then the character development of my Black Phantom album came along and it all started to make sense. At that point i finished it lyrically and upon first recording, this is what came out. timing and all it just fell out this way and sometimes when that happens i can’t bring myself to change it, especially since that’s how it was performed acoustically — different every time. Oddly raw, and created at a time when i certainly had the tools to further refine and improve it, i have kept this original performance as a deeply personal relic.
This is the first track I created as an independent producer. The words remain exactly as they fell from my mouth nearly a decade ago. It has since been remixed and mastered more times than I can count, and I’ve even tried to rerecord the vocals but this original version still hits harder for some inexplicable reason. It is the heart and soul of my creative inception.