DECONSTRUCTED: Drake - 'First Person Shooter' ft. J. Cole (FLP & Stems) (Patreon)

WELCOME BACK! Let's dive into 'First Person Shooter,' one of the most streamed songs from Drake's latest album, 'For All The Dogs,' featuring J. Cole and produced by the remarkable team of Coleman, Vinylz, Tay Keith, Boi-1da, FNZ, & OZ. With such a stacked crew of producers, I was confident that this remake would be highly informative and interesting from both a technical and creative perspective.

The track consists of two different beats, which we have broken down to shed light on how rap production is done at the highest level. You can access the FLP and stems in the attachments below. Let's get into it

BEAT 1

'First Person Shooter' starts at 112 BPM with a soulfully chopped sample of 'Look Me in the Eyes' by Joe Washington and Wash. This beat has a simple, clear drum line with subtle variations every four bars, adding and removing open hats and hi-hat rolls. The percussion completely drops out at multiple points to add variation to the arrangement and to emphasize certain parts of the vocals. The chopped sample also drops by an octave for further instrumental variation. This beat leans more into J. Cole's style with its soulful sample, slightly slower tempo, and clear, unobtrusive drum line.

BEAT 2

The switch-up at 2:21 to a faster, darker beat has become common practice for the 6 God, which seems to almost guarantee a song's mainstream success. You can find other examples of this style of beat switch in songs such as 'SICKO MODE', 'Jimmy Cooks', 'Rich Flex', and 'MELTDOWN'. The tempo switches to 164 BPM and samples 1:02 into the orchestral piece 'Redemption', by Epic Score and Snorre Tindemand. We broke down this sample in pattern 11, using brass, strings, and choir presets from Omnisphere and Kontakt. The sample was pitched down by 5 semitones and stretched heavily to the point where you can actually hear digital artifacts, such as flanging, from quality loss. This gave the second beat a darker, more underground feel as opposed to the cleaner sampling choices typically seen in modern hip-hop production. The same kick sample used in the first beat was also used in the second, but it was interestingly shortened in length and pitched up, which I speculate was due to the faster tempo where a deeper, more sustained kick might take up too much space in the mix. This is worth noting as when the tempo of a track increases, the samples used within the track will be longer and more prominent in respect to the mix. Additionally, the open hat was very creatively programmed, with a unique pattern playing frequently with heavy reverb to add an atmospheric layer in the upper frequencies.

Let me know what tracks you'd like to see broken down next! Don't miss the premiere on YouTube of the full deconstruction, which we're aiming to release next week.

Cheers,

Aiden