Production Breakdown: Marion Write’s “Field of the Dollar”

I've never been to Las Vegas and, until now, I've never felt the urge to visit. Don't get me wrong – gambling, lax liquor laws, insanely decadent architecture and general hedonism are all things I can get behind (and yeah, I realize I'm stereotyping the city just a little), it's just that making a cross-country trip to blow large sums of money on the Vegas experience has thus far seemed like a pretty bad life decision. A dope record, however, is a powerful thing – and “Field of the Dollar,” the latest mixtape leak from up-and-comer Marion Write is about as intriguing an introduction to Sin City's mystique as a hip-hop connoisseur could ask for.

While Write's reflections on his hometown's history, mixed with personal introspection, won the track acclaim in the Booth, the biggest draw of the record was, of course, the production. Crafted by duo Two3 (made up of J. Spence and Write himself), the joint's smoky jazz instrumental sounded absolutely nothing like a traditional rap beat – and it really isn't. For comparison, check out the sample source: “Soldier,” a cut off Philadelphian jazz bassist/composer Stanley Clarke's The Stanley Clarke Band LP (which hit stores just this past May).



The beat that backs Write's record is deftly pasted together from different sections of the original, with some parts left out entirely – the driving rock portion beginning at 3:15 (which could probably serve as material for a beat in its own right) was scrapped, along with some bass soloing. Aside from changing things around chronologically, though, Two3 stay faithful to the original, leaving even the loose percussion rhythms intact.

Backed by your garden-variety boom-bap rhythm or another hip-hop standard, just about anything could be made to sound like a suitable rap beat – and, needless to say, jazz samples are nothing new to the genre – but where other producers would loop a few bars and cleave more tightly to the traditional blueprint, Two3 let the source material breathe, propelling the cut into genuinely exciting, musically adventurous territory. The result is both a vividly impressionistic tribute to Vegas, and a fresh reminder that that anything can be material for a rap record – as long as you can find an emcee brave enough, and talented enough, to kill the beat.