sounwave

Taylor Swift Fuels New Music Rumors By Linking Up With TDE Producer Sounwave

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Taylor Swift does not stop. She’s been one of the hardest-working musicians of the 2020s. Between her new albums and the re-recording of her old albums, it’s any wonder she has time to tour. Things seemed to have cooled down after the less-than-stellar reaction to her last album, though. Swift hasn’t hinted at any new music, or announced re-recording plans. Her longtime producer, however, started cranking the rumor mill on September 18. Jack Antonoff posted a series of photos on Instagram, and one of them featured TDE producer Sounwave.

The black-and-white photo dump sees Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff and Sounwave occupying the same studio space. Sounwave is alone in his photo, but the background make it clear as day that he was at the sessions being documented. The only real clue that fans have regarding the session is a time stamp with the date December 21, 2023 in the corner. This is a crucial piece of information. Taylor Swift dropped her last album, The Tortured Poets Department, in April. It would be easy to dismiss the photo of Sounwave as being from the Poets sessions, but the producer is not listed anywhere on the album’s credits.

Read More: Donald Trump Furiously Posts: “I Hate Taylor Swift!” After Kamala Harris Endorsement

Taylor Swift Worked With Sounwave On “Midnights”

The music that Taylor Swift and Sounwave made in December has not yet seen the light of day, which is why Swifties think there’s a new release around the corner. Jack Antonoff is very much a partner in crime when it comes to giving the fans clues. His posts are often teases of what’s to come, so the chances of a Sounwave photo meaning nothing are low. Besides, Sounwave has an established working relationship with both Antonoff and Swift. The TDE producer is part of the supergroup Red Hearse alongside Sam Dew and Antonoff. He’s also produced smash hits on multiple Taylor Swift songs dating back to 2019.

Sounwave is credited as a producer on Taylor Swift’s “Lover Boy.” His biggest contribution to the Swift catalog came in 2022, though. He is all over the pop star’s album Midnights, co-producing singles like “Lavender Haze” and “Karma.” This collaborative dynamic proved to be a two way street in 2024. The TDE veteran produced Kendrick Lamar’s diss song “616 In LA,” and he enlisted none other than Jack Antonoff to help him out. Given that Lamar’s opponent, Drake, had previously referenced Swift on the “Taylor Made Freestyle,” the link up seemed just as intentional as Antonoff’s new Instagram post.

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The post Taylor Swift Fuels New Music Rumors By Linking Up With TDE Producer Sounwave appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Kendrick Lamar Plays 4D Chess With Drake By Including Taylor Swift’s Producer On “6:16 In LA”

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Kendrick Lamar delivered a scathing takedown of Drake on the song “Euphoria.” This was released on Tuesday, early in the morning. Overall, fans couldn’t help but be mesmerized by just how much of a hater Kendrick truly is. After all, he has been gearing up for this beef for about 10 years now. However, no one could have predicted just how battle-ready he is. In fact, on Friday, Kendrick decided to double down with a new track called “6:16 In LA.” It was a bold move, albeit one that is paying off in the eyes of the fans.

Now that this new song has been released, fans are looking for some hidden meanings. As it turns out, Kendrick has given fans plenty to analyze. In fact, the producers of this new song are drawing quite a bit of attention. As you can see down below, Sounwave and Jack Antonoff are responsible for this song. This is very interesting as Antonoff is known for being Taylor Swift’s main producer. With Drake roasting Kendrick for his proximity to Taylor, it seems as though Kendrick is trying to be a bit cheeky here.

Read More: Kendrick Lamar Scores This Milestone For Feature On “Like That”

Kendrick Lamar Is Quite Literally “Taylor Made”

It is one of those easter eggs that you cannot help but laugh at. Furthermore, it is too much of a coincidence to simply dismiss. At a quick glance, it seems like this is all very calculated. Kendrick has never done things just to do them. There is always a reason and motive behind everything he does. With “6:16 In LA,” that could not be any clearer.

Let us know what you think of Kendrick Lamar including Jack Antonoff as a producer on the song, in the comments section down below. Do you believe that this is a solid easter egg that will get fans energized? How do you believe Drake is going to respond to all of this? Additionally, stay tuned to HNHH for the latest news and updates from around the music world. We will continue to keep you informed on all of your favorite artists and their upcoming projects.

Read More: Which Rappers Have Apologized To Kendrick Lamar?

The post Kendrick Lamar Plays 4D Chess With Drake By Including Taylor Swift’s Producer On “6:16 In LA” appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Kendrick Lamar’s Producer Sounwave Discusses The Struggles Of Making ‘Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers’

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Kendrick Lamar
Getty Image

Earlier this year, Kendrick Lamar dropped Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, the follow-up to his critically-acclaimed Damn. The album was polarizing, with some thinking it was his greatest work yet, while others were not into it at all. The rapper, though, has stayed quiet since the release.

Today, GQ shared an in-depth interview with the album’s producer, Mark “Sounwave” Spears, in which he discusses the way he and Lamar “knew this album was going to be a tough listen.” “It was beyond rough,” he told the interviewer about working on the LP during the pandemic. When asked about if they had to work remotely, he said, “This was the toughest and longest creative process for me. We didn’t necessarily have everyone come to us; we traveled.”

When asked about creating the sonic palette, he explained, “It’s always going to be different with every artist, but Kendrick, he’s very specific. He knows what he wants and even when he don’t know what he wants, he knows what he wants, if that makes sense. Comparing him to anybody else is night and day. We lock in and for weeks just create ideas. And maybe nothing comes from it or maybe a whole album comes from it.”

He continued, “Like I said, this is probably one of the toughest creative processes imaginable creating this album. We went through so much: starting in early 2019 we lost Nipsey, and then less than a year later we lost Kobe. For me, creatively, that hurts. It took a lot out of me. And then a few months later, what happens? We get locked down. Pandemic.”

Read the full interview here.

Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Alright’ Almost Didn’t Appear On ‘To Pimp A Butterfly’

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Philip Cosores

Last month, Kendrick Lamar, along with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 Cent, Mary J Blige, and Anderson .Paak, performed at the Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show. Lamar’s portion of the show was rather short, as he only played “M.A.A.D. City,” “Alright,” and a cover of “Forgot About Dre” with Eminem. One of those songs, “Alright,” has become one of Kendrick’s most impactful songs, often used during social justice protests. However, according to a recent episode of Alex Pappademas’ Spotify podcast The Big Hit Show, the song almost didn’t appear on his landmark 2015 album To Pimp A Butterfly.

Sounwave, who co-produced “Alright” and other songs on the album, joined The Big Hit Show podcast to share the story behind the song. Sounwave was approached by Sam Taylor, a Sony Music executive, as he sat in a meeting that featured Pharrell playing beats for Kendrick and others. “I just remember my guy, Sam Taylor said, ‘Hey come check this one out,’” Sounwave recalled. “He takes me to another room and he plays me the skeleton of ‘Alright.’”

“And I just remember my jaw drop,” Sounwave continued. “It was just like literally just the 808s and the keys, and Pharrell had the melody of ‘We going be alright.’ And I was like, ‘Bro what is this?’ Oh my goodness, I’m freaking out. And I immediately run, I was like, ‘Dot, you have to come hear this.’”

Kendrick himself loved what he heard, but the next task was finishing the song and making sure it was a cohesive fit with the album. While completing the song was a breeze, making it fit on was difficult at first.

“It was super amazing, super fitting, sonically it was not, like no matter what we did, it just could not fit with the rest of the album,” Sounwave explained. “But we loved that record so much that I said, ‘Okay, I’m not letting this record die.’”

Thankfully, after some minor changes and some additional contributions from famed producer Terrace Martin, “Alright” found its place on To Pimp A Butterfly, and the rest is history.

You can listen to the full episode of The Big Hit Show here.