In 2017 we’ve definitely seen a shift in what makes a Hip Hop track rise to the top of the charts. The producers behind the songs rarely get the recognition they deserve for all their efforts helping an artist reach stardom. In this generation vocals aren’t as important as the beat that’s over a track.
A name you might not be too familiar with yet is Syk Sense. The 31 year old producer based out of Atlanta has quietly made a name for himself over the past couple years. In a short amount of time he’s been able to work with the likes of Drake, Bryson Tiller, Travis $cott, 6lack, and Khalid. His first big project happened when he co-produced Drake’s “Draft Day”. Since then, he’s been an unstoppable force as a new generation Hip Hop Producer.
Last year, Revolt TV got a behind scenes look of Syk Sense’s creative process:
Between Bryson Tiller’s “Let Em’ Know” and Goldlink’s “Pray Everyday (Survivor’s Guilt)”, Syk Sense has proven himself to be a master of versatility. Whether it’s an R&B or heavy Hip Hop track, Syk has a distinctive way of manipulating synths to create stand out pieces.
Beat Break interviewed Syk about how he created the production for Drake’s “Know Yourself”. The song appeared on Drake’s 2015 release, If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late. From the start it was one of the most memorable tracks on the album. “I was runnin’ through the 6 with my woes” is still one of Drake’s most easily recognized phrases. In the interview Syk stated, “I was in the studio and as soon as I heard [the sample], instantly I just had to kill it. With ‘Draft Day’ I was a little hesitant. But this one inspired me in such a way that there was people around [the studio], but I couldn’t even hear them. I was just focused on what I wanted out of that beat. It was a weird time signature at first—I took it from 4/5 to 4/4 or something like that. Once I got my chop, I put the bassline on top of that and the drums came later. I made this back in Atlanta, one of the homies was coming in the house where I was doing it, he didn’t say nothing, but I could see it on his face that it was some crazy shit.”
Clearly, Syk is now a very a busy man. He’s hinted at collaborations with Kendrick Lamar and has been confirmed to be on Chris Brown’s upcoming album, Heartbreak on a Full Moon. We can expect to be hearing a lot more from him in the near future.
