Album: Doris (2013)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This subdued, menacing track finds Earl Sweatshirt spitting some dark rhymes alongside fellow West Coast upstart Casey Veggies, while early Odd Future member Vince Staples guests on the hook.
  • Earl supplied the song's beat with Matt Martians. He credits Christian Rich, who helmed several of the Doris tracks, for showing him the production ropes. "When he came back from Samoa he was messing around on Logic, so [we] gave him some sounds and just showed him how to quantize it," Taiwo "Christian" Hassan of the production duo explained to MTV News. "I didn't realize that we were teaching him how to make beats. I didn't even know he was trying to be a producer, and then before we even got in the studio he already did 'Hive.'"
  • The song's creepy music video was directed by Japanese-American USC film school graduate Hiro Murai, who also shot Sweatshirt's clip for "Chum." Said Murai: "We kind of had something that we already built and we were just building off of what we did for 'Chum.' Odd Future has this very specific brand, but Earl was clearly looking to do something a little more low-key and restrained. So there was a lot of back and forth trying to figure out where we were idea-wise."

    Murai told Billboard magazine that he always pushes the artists he's working with to "go a little weirder." He added regarding this visual, "This one was rough for Earl. He had just gotten off tour and was in the studio right before we pulled an all-nighter for this. People ask me what we did to make his face look so strung out, but he showed up that way! He caught pneumonia three days later."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

JJ Burnel of The Stranglers

JJ Burnel of The StranglersSongwriter Interviews

JJ talks about The Stranglers' signature sound - keyboard and bass - which isn't your typical strain of punk rock.

John Doe of X

John Doe of XSongwriter Interviews

With his X-wife Exene, John fronts the band X and writes their songs.

Glen Burtnik

Glen BurtnikSongwriter Interviews

On Glen's résumé: hit songwriter, Facebook dominator, and member of Styx.

Dino Cazares of Fear Factory

Dino Cazares of Fear FactorySongwriter Interviews

The guitarist/songwriter explains how he came up with his signature sound, and deconstructs some classic Fear Factory songs.

George Harrison

George HarrisonFact or Fiction

Did Eric Clapton really steal George's wife? What's the George Harrison-Monty Python connection? Set the record straight with our Fact or Fiction quiz.

Steely Dan

Steely DanFact or Fiction

Did they really trade their guitarist to The Doobie Brothers? Are they named after something naughty? And what's up with the band name?