Sample Saturday: Earl Sweatshirt - Nowhere2go

Welcome back to Sample Saturday, where we break down samples used in your favorite songs. Today we will be discussing the sample used in Earl Sweatshirt’s “Nowhere2go”  produced by Darryl10k and Adé Hakim from his 2018 album “Some Rap Songs.”  This week's submission was sent in from Tenjiani, you can follow them on Instagram @hadijahmedia. 

“Nowhere2go” is Earl Sweatshirt’s battling isolation and depression while the world around him is crumbling. Figuring out how to continue through life after despair, building relationships with his peers while visiting L.A. gave him peace of mind. Stuttery drums & cowbells convey the feeling of unsureness being able to overcome the feelings of loneliness,

“Yeah, I think I spent most of my life depressed (Most of my)/ Only thing on my mind was death (On my) /Didn't know if my / /time was next (Next, yeah, yeah)/ Tryna refine this shit, I redefined myself,” Sweatshirt raps. 

The sample used in the song is the R&B tune “Baby Do Those Things,” by Dave Hollister produced by Robert “Big Bert” Smith  from  Hollister’s 2002 album, “Things in the Game Done Changed.” The intimate sensual record charted number ten on the Billboard 200 within the first week of release and number three on the Top R&B/Hip Hop albums. 

Producers Darryl10k and Adé Hakim flipped the R&B track, creating glitchy vocals and replacing the warmth seductive undertones with cymbals crafting the track into the opposing emotion, changing the tone from intimatcy to isolation.