Day 08 – Kia Shine

The break-out song by Drake, “Best I Ever Had” starts with a sample. That sample was taken from a song produced by Kia Shine. After legal battles, Drake’s first hit landed Kia shine 25% revenue in unpaid fees. Although I am not a fan of legal battles in music, it was only right that the person who made a record hot, or at least made the sample which became the “bed” for a hit single, should be rewarded or at least credited for it…

That is the story of Kia Shine. Back in 2007, “So Krispy” was a billboard hit record. The rapper on that one-hit wonder was Kia Shine. Since then he’s been more of a producer and has been behind the scenes making good money, getting his own like many people in the music industry. His talent is undeniable, and when I reached out to him for talk of a collaboration, he immediately loved the beat, concept and overall idea I had for a record called “Aight then”.

The song is about a typical club scene, where a woman lets loose to a heavy-bass club track. With no disrespect to the ladies out there, we all get those moments where it’s time to pop champagne, have a party and let go from the daily stress. A bit of fun never hurt nobody, and that’s the theme of this record. As a DJ, I wanted to create a record which I could comfortably incorporate into my set. That was the thought behind this track. The beat has no bass guitar: the 808 drums hit so hard that a natural baseline leads the song with a pitch-shift of the kick-drums. Added to that, I used a raindrop-sounding synthesizer for the lead melody. This is one of the fastest-made beats I’ve ever made in my career. I think I needed about 15-20 minutes to finish it. After 10 minutes it already sounded incredible, and I spent actually another 5-10 minutes thinking of what I could add to it, but it sounded complete to me THAT quickly!

The end-result is a heavy club, dirty track which reminds me a bit of the Ying Yang Twins’ “Whisper Song”. Khia Shine (who now goes by the alias of “Pharow Belafonte”) uses auto-tune effectively. And even though I am not a fan of that plug-in when it comes to vocals, I have to admit that it worked beautifully on this beat, giving it that extra edge that was needed to turn this club banger into a certified hit-record. “Mama bounce that, shake that –Aight then – Mama Move that twerk that –Aight then” the catchy hook just stays in the head like a never ending phrase, and the bouncy bass-driven beat keeps you nodding your head. The track is sure to be played in the club by many Dj’s, and I’m really looking forward to releasing the record on March 6th. #realdreams