Song Investigation!

Case Study One-

Kendrick Lamar ‘Love’

Song Facts-

TITLE- Love

ARTIST- Kendrick Lamar ft Zacari

COMPOSITION/PRODUCTION- Sounwave, Teddy Walton, Greg Kurstin, Anthony Tiffith, M. Spears, G. Kurstin, K. Duckworth, Z. Pacaldo,

BPM- 126

KEY- F Major

TIME SIGNATURE- 4/4

LENGTH- 3min 31sec, 106 bars

Runtime for each stage of the track-

Intro- 6.144 seconds,

Pre-chorus 14.667 seconds,

Chorus 1- 15.360 seconds,

Verse 1- 45.568 seconds,

Chorus 2- 16.896 seconds,

Pre-chorus 1- 28.501 seconds,

Verse 2- 31.040 seconds,

Chorus 3- 17.571 seconds,

Bridge 1- 12.913 seconds,

Outro- 22.710 seconds

Overview-

This song is predominantly hip hop in it’s sound. Heavy drums and big bass. But in today’s day and age in Hip Hop, more and more artists are adopting what has been called ‘wavy’ beats. This wave can be described as warm, melodic synths and grooves (or like the heavily filtered keys in ‘Love’) that help the song sonically drift up and down in tone and feel like they are building on a loop the entire run-time. Another aspect of wave is the fact that lyrics are delivered both rapping AND signing them. It helps change the flow and cadence of the track, generally leading into a hook or chorus. These combined factors form what is known as ‘wavy’ hip hop.

One of the main elements audible to the listener in this song are the keys. A Rhodes piano plugin was used to create the background melody of the track. They are filtered in such a way that they have an under-water sound to them. Couple this with a medium plate verb with a medium decay and slight delay, this effect turns the keys into an almost background synth that plays through the entirety of the track. Underneath those keys are some more MIDI keys that are evident in both verses and choruses. It adds a shift in melody that helps make for a warm transition into the next segment.

Now after further investigation, I discovered that the sample used in the track is made up of several of the producers/vocalist’s previous works, layering them to make a new sound. After which, Teddy Walton overdubbed many elements for the final production. It takes the same keys heard in the background and builds on those with a melodic vocal 1 bar cadence- the vowel ‘oOoO’ up and down an octave. This creates a very peaceful tone for the song to build on. Also present in the sample is a kick, snare hi hats and bass stabs.

Vocal chops- In the verses, to help Kendrick bounce over the beat and to help shift the momentum of the song, there are some mini hooks thrown in by Zacari when he sings ‘Love me’. Several times on every second bar it is sung in a high pitch delivery and adds a lot of character to the verses. In some of those chops, they are given a heavier reverb and delay so that the ‘Love Me’ dissipates slowly into the mix, creating a bounce like effect. Kendrick’s vocals audibly change to cater to the vocal chops, a sudden drop off of rapping and a quick half bar ‘Love Me’ is sung. It is like a verbal/melodic full stop. It shows the listener the end of each line, whilst shaping the next.

Intro and pre-chorus-

The track begins with an old school vocal shout-out by a hype man seen in many 80’s and 90’s hip hop tracks. The lyrics ‘We still letting it spit ya’ll’ are heavily delayed, 3 times in fact, and then the phrase has been panned to the right for a final delay for aesthetics as it quickly fades into the mix. For the first half of the pre-chorus, we are introduced to the melody of the song, Rhodes keys.

From bars 4 to 11, the sample and a synth plays, setting a very melodic tone, one that helps paint a picture of what is to come. It is very soothing and warm yet oddly dark in a way, most likely due to the small bass stabs running in conjunction with the sample on every second 4th beat. There is also some tape saturation present and kind of gives the track an old school feel. We are also introduced to the first vocals that have been sung. The vocal has a heavy reverb that dissipates quickly. It almost feels like a ‘sung chant’.

Chorus 1-

The listener is then introduced to the chorus on the 12th bar of the song. This is where the heavy bass stabs are overdubbed onto the sample. In tandem with the beginning of the drums, it thrusts the song into urgency and its full product. Kick, Hi Hats, claps, wind ups, snares, claves and bongos are the main percussion elements heard in the track. Heavy reverb on most instruments with quick decays. The drums in this track are used very creatively and kind of come at the listener from vastly different angles and tones. A lot of the drums are fillers which help keep you guessing where the next sound is coming from. This is the general feel of the track- one that continuously builds you up and then takes you down again.

Verse 1-

A very deep, droning bass stab is heard at bar 19. I think it helps separate verse from chorus to the listener along with the artist’s noticeable vocal presence. The song continues its direction before shifting in melody halfway into the verse as we are introduced to the aforementioned MIDI Keys. This simple 3 key segment, with an extended sustain (heard at 53 seconds) helps change the mood/momentum of the song in that it gains an extra feeling of warmth and tonal aesthetic. It repeats one more time in this verse before disappearing into the remainder of the verse. With Kendrick’s vocals, the lyrics are delivered in a fairly quick capacity; meaning that the sentences aren’t very long. There is also a very intentional, monotone emphasis on the final syllables of each line, up and down in tone following the production. We find that the vocals lines are then partially delayed/recorded separately and used as an adlib-like effect. Both the original vocal and the duplicates form a ‘full sentence’. The droning bassline really helps shape Kendrick’s monotone delivery towards the end of this verse too. Another point worth mentioning in this verse is the use of a reversed snare that is heavily distorted (around 58 seconds). It really gives the drums some noticeable diversity whilst the 3 chord MIDI segment plays.

Chorus 2-

The second chorus is almost the exact same as the first, but now we hear those 3 key MIDI chords played twice again. Previously heard in the verse, purely by adding a few chords, the song is continually adding and subtracting elements to create a looping/growth effect- we have been subjected to all elements of the track by this stage and now it is about arrangement and using those adding/subtracting skills to help build the song up where need be and vice versa for removal.

Breakdown into pre-chorus and chorus-

Now the listener is re-introduced to the pre-chorus/chorus that was heard just after the intro- from about bar 50 to bar 65. The reasoning behind the replay of this section of the song is to cover the fact that there are only TWO verses that are rapped on this song- differing from the general 3 verses we hear on over 90 percent of all hip-hop records. To me personally, I never really feel like the track is repeating itself though. It is through tiny, subtle additions and extractions that the producer shapes the direction of the song and helps differentiate between different segments.

Verse 2-

Kendrick comes in to begin the second verse immediately after the chorus has finished. The final snare before the verse begins, is the rapper’s que to get in quickly and shape the cadence and flow of the verse TO the beat. What I mean by that is literally rapping over the beat, around the beat, before the beat etc. which allows an artist to get very creative with their deliveries. The only other real difference in this verse to the first apart from length (about 6 bars shorter) is that those MIDI keys are turned down in the back end of this mix compared to the first verse. I think this was done so that the listener doesn’t sense the keys coming, therefore potentially finding it too repetitive. Having those chords down in the mix still added some complexity and warmth to the verse.

Chorus 4 to Bridge and Outro-

The chorus is played again, this time minus the 3 chord MIDI segment. It sounds like we have come full circle on the loop as we end the same way we start- with a pre-chorus and a chorus. Then for the final few bars, all drums, bass etc are taken away and we are left with just the sample keys in the background.

Conclusion-

I chose to break down this song because it was so different to ANY other track on the album or in the entirety of Kendrick’s catalogue really. Lamar is known for his lyrical content; being very politically and socially aware and in constant commentary of a bigger picture for those struggling through poverty, crime and oppression as he did. This is a real, new-age love song and one which that is rumored to be about his wife. I believe this is why he chose this particular beat, so he could really vibe out to it and experiment with a potential new sound.

Producer Teddy Walton has stated that this type of track is a new sound he is developing. An ambient, wavy, big bass and drums sounding hip hop blend. It has been intriguing dissecting Walton’s work. The use of drum fills i.e. addition/subtraction, EQ, samples, emotive bass-lines etc all used to create a feeling of building and melodic warmth. It is almost like he is fusing RnB with Hip Hop. This is smoething that I will continue to dissect as I quite enjoy the overall sound that has been made here and may try to emulate this in some way in my productions!

REFERENCES-

Kendrick Lamar’s New Album DAMN.: The Full Credits | Pitchfork. [online] Available at: https://pitchfork.com/news/72695-kendrick-lamars-new-album-damn-the-full-credits/

Lamar, K., ZACARI., L. and ZACARI., L. (2018). BPM for LOVE. FEAT. ZACARI. (Kendrick Lamar). [online] GetSongBPM.com. Available at: https://getsongbpm.com/song/love-feat-zacari/Pjx80y

YouTube. (2018). LOVE - Kendrick Lamar. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP-c1TsLZnk

YouTube. (2018). The Making Of Kendrick Lamar's "LOVE." With Teddy Walton | Deconstructed. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOciiz9WK5Y