From The Life of Pablo to Gulou Dajie: See Hotshot Hip-Hop Producer Sinjin Hawke at Dada, Aug 26
Kanye West, Just Blaze and a member of Three 6 Mafia are but a few of Sinjin Hawke's all-star rap collaborators, an impressive lineup that the young producer has quickly wracked up as of late.
That momentum truly went into high gear after that the relatively unknown Hawke (born Alan Soucy in New Jersey) snagged a coveted spot on Kanye West’s 2016 album The Life of Pablo, helming “Wolves,” a fan favorite. For the track, Hawke utilized sparse synths and a haunting, forlornly feminine background vocal that was neatly juxtaposed with Yeezy’s splintery autotuned singing.
Before that, Hawke teamed with Gangsta Boo (of the Oscar-winning Southern rap troop Three 6 Mafia) for the song "Yea Hoe," which lead to him being beckoned by veteran producer Just Blaze to collaborate at Red Bull Music Academy in 2013, where they created the triumphantly anthemic, handclap-rife song "One."
That all culminated in the May 10 release of Hawke's debut LP, First Opus. On it, he showcases an impressively wide range of styles and tones that should appeal to both those on the dance floor and headphone diehards. That latter, more introverted crowd will happily sit and ruminate on subtle tracks like "They Can’t Love You," which has a high-pitched vocal sample looped so tight it sounds like a stuttering ghost, as percussion methodically clops along in the background.
Songs like “Dawn of Infinity” sport synths that chime, glitter and slink, along with declarative old-school horn samples. But the LP also has songs like "Flood Gates," which features anthemic horn blares perfectly suited for half-time at the NBA playoffs. Ditto the jabbing string section sounds and soaring but tightly looped “hey hey!” vocals on “Snow Blind,” and the squeaky vocal samples and grinding synths on “Onset.”
Hawke will be accompanied in Beijing by his equally talented frequent collaborator Zora Jones, whose beats and instrumentals have been described by The Fader as "pristine compositions that fuse alien R&B melodies and laser-sharp SFX with a frenetic dash of footwork." For her debut EP 100 Ladies, she created 100 tracks in the span of two years before narrowing the song list down to just seven. When asked to describe her meticulous, prolific work ethic, she said: “My brain just works better when I keep working instead of having breaks ... Last night I just wanted to have this detail finished before I went to sleep; I just kept on working for 12 hours until it was done.”
Hosting two such hot up-and-comers are sure to make this a jam-packed night at Dada. Attendees will likely be grateful that Hawkes made it here to perform after an amazing feat like surviving the infamously chaotic Pablo sessions, which caused none other than Stephen Colbert to rib the rap star and the track that Hawke produced
Sinjin Hawke will perform with opening act Zora Jones at Dada tomorrow, Aug 26. We'll update this blog with more information about ticket prices and the start time when it becomes available.
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Email: kylemullin@thebeijinger.com
Twitter: @MulKyle
Photos: Nicky Digital, The Fader (May 9, 2017), The Fader (Nov. 13 2015), Ballin on a Budget
