I spent a whole piece arguing that R&B punishes artists for blending genres, but that's always been my approach to the space. I've always tried to hold onto elements of the music that inspire me, and that can range from orchestral to electronic. The gap between what R&B artists make and what the audience counts as part of the genre has always been part of the conversation but those like Kelela, KWN, cortex, and Baby Rose are artists that I feel are bringing something unique to it, and I'm excited for people to hear not only what I have planned for my next No Rap on Sundays playlist, but what these artists are presenting.
The Session
“Grind” is electronic R&B instrumental off Vault V: Act II.
24 minutes, start to finish, no edits. It opens on piano and builds out from there — two separate drum programming passes, synth FX for texture, and a lead to end off the session.
Chapters
00:00 Piano
02:14 Drums
13:38 Synth FX
15:49 Drums Pt. 2
20:32 Synth Lead
The drums get two passes for a reason. The first one is structure. The second one is feel and going back in after the textures are down. That’s where most of the record actually gets decided.
Credits
❄️ Vault V: Act II
🎹 Producer: DrewsThatDude
🎨 Artwork: bryse.
🎧 Mixing & Mastering Engineer: Andrew Lloyd Stevenson
⏳ Label: We Had Our Time
📆: 4/6/23
🌎 Vault V: Act II on Streaming
Listen to Grind on Vault V: Act II
What is We Had Our Time?
We Had Our Time is a newsletter from Grammy-nominated composer DrewsThatDude and your source for music discovery with context. We share carefully curated playlists, deep dives on artists shaping sound, new releases, and independent career insights for navigating the industry.
Shop
Records, merch and exclusive drops from the Relapse graphic novel universe.
Discography
Listen to DrewsThatDude on SoundCloud, Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. Download singles, albums and exclusive drops on Bandcamp.
Connect
Connect with us on Youtube and on our official website. Join the We Had Our Time subscriber chat for updates and drops.
