Production Breakdown: “Hey, Where Have I Heard That ‘High Rise’ Beat Before?”

For the most part, memory and observation really aren't my strong suits. You could call me “absent-minded.” I frequently return home from the store to find that I didn't pick up the one specific thing that I'd made the trip for in the first place. I lose track of my keys constantly – even when they're still in my hand, five seconds after using them. And if they're not in my hand, odds are I forgot to remove them from the lock after letting myself into my apartment. Why is this the case? The only theory I can come up with is that, before any piece of practical knowledge has a chance to settle into my brain, it's pushed out by all the music packed in there – because I never, ever forget a beat.

So anyways, when I heard the opening bars of G.O.O.D. Music emcee Big Sean's latest feature, “High Rise,” (track is at the bottom of the page) I spit coffee all over my laptop monitor in shock – well, OK, not really – I don't even think I was drinking coffee (which is kind of shocking in itself). But anyway, I was surprised to hear a Don Cannon-produced instrumental that I'd encountered not once but twice before in my DJBooth x RefinedHype tenure.

Set for inclusion on Sean's Finally Famous (Vol. 3) mixtape, the track earned high praise, particularly thanks to Cannon's lush, sampled boardwork – which set off the déjà vu alarm in just a few savvy reviewers. So, where did we hear it first? It was back in February of 2009, when ATL native Frank Lee White introduced himself with the neurosis-soaked “My Life.” A musical laundry list of the artist's personal problems, the track was praised for its real lyricism as well as Cannon's production. Impetuous young track reviewer that I was, I remarked that the emcee's relentlessly depressing rhymes were at odds with the swanky beat (which I described as “a downbeat version of the theme from The Price Is Right,” an analogy which I still stand behind.).



Well, apparently FLW had one vice he neglected to mention in the record: using leaked beats without getting proper permission (hey, I'm not judging). Just a few short months later, in mid-April, Atlanta five-piece Embassy Music Board, who apparently had licensed the beat, brought us another song titled “My Life,” with a similar hook but an entirely flipped concept. EMB's cut was a motivational jam, which found the group expressing a philosophical outlook in regard to life's ups and downs – and, not too surprisingly, it got an even higher score from Booth readers.

Now, more than a year later, we have Big Sean's “High Rise,” another cut with the precise same instrumental, but an even more different-er theme. A braggadocio-laced ode to life in the fast lane, the mixtape single earned a slightly lower average rating from Booth reviewers, but outdid its predecessors in terms of quantity of feedback.

Anyway, we've got three tracks with the exact same beat, by totally different artists, featuring totally different lyrical content – which reigns supreme? I'm going to have to cast my lot in with Big Sean, for thematic reasons. To me, Cannon's ritzy, minor-key groove has a vibe neither entirely upbeat nor entirely downbeat. The mood is kinda in-between, luxurious but slightly paranoid – and, with a mix of high-rolling braggadocio and I've-got-mine trash talk, Sean hits the nail on the head as far as I'm concerned. What do you think?

As for the mysteries of how and why the instrumental changed hands for a third time, and where that sample came from in the first place, well, I have no clue at the moment. I'm still waiting to hear back from Don Cannon's people, so you'll just have to sit tight; you'll know when I do. Until then, RefinedHypesters!