U-Dub's Use of Samples on Young M.A's New Album

Young M.A and New York-based producer U-Dub have been working together since 2015’s “Body Bag” and break-through hit “OOOUUU” in 2016. Both were produced by U-Dub, setting off a string of productions for her. Including “Wahlinn’” two years later, including a Chinese folk sample off Tracklib.

“It’s been a major blessing to have this continuous flow of songs with M.A over the years,” says U-Dub. “So it was extremely important to me that I pushed myself to contribute as much as I could for the [new] album. We both pretty much started our music careers at the same time, so the trust and mutual respect are there on both sides.”

“No Love” is one of the seven songs he produced for Herstory In The Making. The voice in the intro of the track is that of Karen Domino White, the daughter of iconic pianist and singer Fats Domino. U-Dub: “When I heard the Karen Domino White intro I knew I had no choice but to try to make a beat out of this song. Once I heard the Karen Domino White sample sequenced, I knew I had to go an R&B route with the drums. I laid down some snares and hi-hats from a Dylan Graham drum pack, added some kicks and bass, and then that classic 70s-sounding transition effect to finish the job.”

In line with previous beats for tracks such as “Wahlinn’”, U-Dub delved into Asian music for the album’s outro, “Crime Poetry (Outro).” Chinese chants by Ayijisi are fluently looped under a rattling trap beat. “Some of my favorite beats of all-time have sampled some type of Eastern music,” explains U-Dub.

“So I was definitely seeking that out at the time. I think I might have narrowed my search down ‘By Region’ in Tracklib and looked through East Asia. I really love this sample. I love the chopped and sped-up woman’s voice, the ‘war drum’ as I like to call it, the water, the flute, and I think there’s even an accordion in there. This is the type of magic you can only get by digging and sampling. Period.”

And as far as digging through Tracklib is concerned, it's still part of U-Dub's workflow since we talked to him last year. "There’s been a lot more music added to Tracklib in the past year. Not just in quantity but in diversity which is always inspiring when you’re looking to create something new. And by the way, big thank you to Tracklib for empowering us producers with real music to sample in a legal and affordable way. Couldn't have done it without you."

Listen to 'Herstory In The Making' here or via the stream below. And dig into U-Dub's new Collection to discover three songs he sampled and several favorites.