Case Study – LIL PUMP – MOLLY (prod. Bighead & ronny J)

For this case study, I will be going into a track that’s been blowing up on SoundCloud, taking the number one spot on the charts and is quite a banger. There’s no doubt there’s a new wave of trap coming out, these South Florida rappers are dominating SoundCloud and influencing the younger generation of rappers and producers with their braggadocious aesthetic.

Lil Pump’s performance and flow on this track can be described as unconventional and brash. Being only 16, Lil Pump has made himself a very marketable character, his individuality from the other SoundCloud rappers can be heard through his vocal style and cadence. Some would argue it’s very similar to the current style of trap that’s coming out however you really got to understand what kind of aesthetic and emotions it evokes in the listener. Obviously, you either hate it or love it but there is no denying its success coming from the underground trap scene. The excessive drug references, theme of wearing designer clothes and spending money are common topics often rapped about by these South Florida rappers and what some people claim to be disrespectful to the genre, and lack of understanding its roots and paying respect to those who came before them into the rap game, this style and genre are something that’s going to continue to grow in popularity.

For this track to make it on the number one spot, I’ll try to break down what myself and millions of others have enjoyed about the track and find out what works in the production.

The track initially begins with some dark keys or bells which could’ve been sampled from somewhere. I feel like it could be a sample because of the way the second rising ambient sound cuts off after the first bar, giving it that sampled, rearranged vibe. Lil Pump and Producers bighead & ronny j drop their tags before the first initial drop at around 15 seconds where the trappy distorted 808 kicks off the hook. The driving force of this track is the distorted 808 that give the track that club banging vibe and groove to get people bumping to the beat. the main sample the starts off the beat then drops out for the hook where the 808 takes its spot and the other elements that come in on the drop are some noticeably low passed trap style hi-hats, a punchy kick that sits above the 808 and another low passed rim shot instead of a trap snare which was a good selection as a trap style snare would somewhat clash with Pump’s frequencies as he’s rapping is slightly in a higher and stressed register. Also what can be heard are some bell style notes that drop in and out coming in again at a lower pitch than switching up the melody during the verse. Underneath there is another single noted slow attack, rising synth sound that fills up some of the high-mids and takes the place of the sample at the begging of the track.

During the first verse, this is where the b-section comes in which is similar to the hook section however the sample played at the start is reintroduced accompanied by louder and more present hi-hats, less low-passed that the previous hats. Here is a visual representation of where and when the A and B section can he distinctly heard.

As you can see, to add interest and keep the flow of the track switching up, the B section only lasts around 4 bars then go back into the 8 bar A section, however it switches up again near the end where the third B section plays for 8 bars but instead of a verse, this B section is longer as it played for the hook.

The structure is fairly simple. The track is around 125bpm. The structure is as follows.

8 bar Intro

8 bar A section (Hook)

4 bar B section (Verse)

8 bar A section (Verse)

4 bar b section (Verse)

8 bar A section (Hook)

8 bar B section (Hook)

8 bar A section (Instrumental)

8 bar B section (Outro)

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Break down of the sounds

The track begins with some keys that could be a part of a sample as there is an underlying sound that emerges half way through the loop then cuts off when the loop resets. This could be recreated by using Serum and finding some filter keyboard sounds with an underlying pad or synth with an envelope that has a smooth attack and sharp cut off, but after a lot of experimentation could seem to replicate it.

Next, we have the kick and 808. Right at the end of the track,

izotope EQ and made a Bick wall ban pass EQ to isolate the fundamental frequencies of the kick and 808 and where they sit in relation to each other. The fundamental of the kick shown to be around that 100hz range.

Everthing 400hz and below, you can hear and also see the harmonic distortion added to the sub which is why you hear the 808 all the way up to and around 400hz

I then checked out the rim shot and clap, here is the rim shot's band, the rim shot had been filtered as it fits into the more lower mids.

The fundamental of the clap is around 4k but as it can be seen below, it's quite a wide sound that fills out most of the lower mids and higher mids. the clap is mainly heard above the fundamental frequencies of the artist vocals so it doesn't clash or get lost in the mix.

Moving on to the A Section hi-hats which sound more like filtered shakers and have a lower fundamental frequency. The B Section hi-hats are more present and bright, having a higher fundamental frequency and have that more digital trap hi-hat tone, short and snappy.

Low shaker/hi-hat on the left and the higher hi-hat on the right. both have different fundamental frequencies.

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Then to fill up the mids, there are some bells that are played by single notes and also in chords. This is what can be seen on the spectral analyser when the keys/bells are played in chords.

And that’s basically it, I can't go too in-depth because I'm learning about synthesis and trying to understand to recreate plucks and sounds from other productions.