7. The Producer

The Producer

I highly recommend listening to this with headphones. The bass mixed with the minute details added in this track cannot be fully appreciated through speakers dispersing the sound throughout the room you’re in. I cannot stress this enough: listen with headphones, high quality if you have. Having these sounds reverberating through your head between your ears is the only way to properly hear everything Labrinth offers in this short but ever so satisfying track. This track jumps right in with a staccato keyboard and a storyteller voice, starting us off with “And they all lived happily ever after.” It starts off pretty much all treble, with lyrics that come off a little elusive. From there, the storyteller drops a word or two from the phrase until we’re left with “And they all…”, two low chords, “...grew up.” These low chords make growing up come off as a negative experience. For the most part I’d say the staccato notes are in a major key, but the last chords before the bulk of the song are minor. The way “grew up” is isolated and different from what we’d been hearing gives it a sort of dark, negative feel.

The intro to the song doesn’t really connect to what follows, a deep reverberating bass line with Labrinth’s low soulful voice, and feels a bit disconnected, even a little disjointed. It feels almost as though he wanted the beginning of “The Producer” to stand as its own track but for the sake of consistency, saved those short connecting pieces for the intro, outro, and a middle track, keeping the happily ever after verses in one track. This song does happen to be relatively short, especially compared to many others, spanning around 3 to 4 minutes long. Combining those first lines with the more melodic part of the song at least makes it reach just over two and a half minutes. I can’t say I mind the brevity of this track, it doesn’t feel like it’s missing anything, the beginning just throws me for a loop when trying to make a correlation to the rest of the track.

As the saying goes, onwards and upwards! Literally! As the song moves along, the message portrayed is one of climbing the social, money, and fame ladders. No one is getting in this producer’s way, even “these Spielbergs” and “all these Goslings.” Labrinth mentions flying and rising up, which he has explained in interviews is how he views success: “he sells his imagination because he wants to fly, and for me flying is a symbol of success”. He has to work through the struggle of making a successful product. As a producer, he has to compete against the rest of the producing world and climb the popularity ladder.

The lyrics in this track are jam-packed full of genius. From the beginning of the song after the intro, Labrinth comes in with musical metaphors. “Laying tracks just like a railroad” is the first notable example of this. I love the metaphor used here connecting tracks of a song to tracks of a railroad. I’m not sure I have ever heard someone use the phrase “laying tracks” in reference to music except maybe in rap. This is one of the many ways Labrinth so seamlessly incorporates other genres into his music, not conforming to any one style consistently.

The next notable line comes shortly after, “I design them beats like Alexander thread them dresses.” I gathered from simple Google searches that this could refer to Alexander Wang or McQueen, I would lean more towards McQueen because he is a British designer, as Labrinth is a British producer. He uses this line to compare artistic crafts, or, if you will, arts and crafts. It is detailed, careful, at times tedious work to craft a perfect product. The reference to outside culture is executed so smooth and clean that it’s barely caught on a first listen.

In another verse, Labrinth brings his recognizable religious theme in with, “Momma told me that’s a God day” referring to working on Sunday. Almost directly after this comes “God bless the sinner no rest for the wicked” - another mention of religion, or at least God. It could also be a subtle nod to the song “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” by band Cage the Elephant, which is in a completely different genre. This line includes an internal rhyme, connecting “bless” and “rest,” adding to the lyrical expertise Labrinth holds. Continuing with his flawless mixing of genres, Labrinth references Kanye West: “Kanye West they can’t tell me nothing,” an allusion to Kanye’s song, “Can’t Tell Me Nothing,” from “Graduation” which happens to be my overall favorite album of his, too. While this line is a direct reference to Yeezy’s song and established fame, the line itself is pushing the narrative of the producer walking, and working, to the beat of his own drum. No one can tell him what to do, how to work, “nothing.” The producer is his own boss, something many producers take pride in.

With all the glory of creating a successful product and working for yourself, there is still that nagging feeling during the waiting game. Labrinth shows this through lines, “paid my dues and I did my time,” and “watchin’ paint dry.” He’s done what was required, he put in the effort, and suffered, is it time to shine yet? Waiting for the time in the spotlight can feel like the cliche phrase, “a watched pot never boils.” As you can imagine, watching paint dry is comparable to the tedious part of success - the waiting game. These lines are reflective of Labrinth’s personal success. He came from a family of talented musicians, but did not come as a product of their fame, as Michael Jackson or Donny and Marie Osmond had for example. Labrinth had a musically influential background, but the fame and success was his own. He built his career up from nearly the bottom of the totem pole, ghost writing for big-name artists such as rapper Tinie Tempah, and reaching heights of the likes of this album.

It’s only the second verse and we have already got ourselves some more golden lines. Right from the beginning we get another genre and completely different mode of music: Broadway. “I been livin’ with the Phantom” may go relatively unnoticed if not for the organ accompanying the line. You don’t have to be a die-hard Broadway fan to get this nudge to “Phantom of the Opera.” The organ, a classic instrument in the Broadway show, alludes to this reference. This is an iconic instrument in the play, as it is in this track. The production of this entire song with all of its minor details is on an impressive level which seems fitting with the title of the track. A song all about a producer and rising in the world of production deserves to be packed full of genius, which Labrinth successfully delivers.

Later in the second verse, we get a line which Genius says the lyrics to are: “Momma hung them baby pictures up,” however, I think it’s “Momma hide them baby pictures ah-mmm.” My interpretation leans more towards the producer attempting to appear professional and mature. He may be trying to hide the doting motherly undertone scattered around a home.

The last four lines of the second verse stand out as rather impactful. They hold a decent amount of meaning and intent, getting Labrinth’s “plot” across effectively.

“I was destined for some shit

But now I'm lookin' at the cuckoo clock

I'm countin' all them digits

Made some plans for life but now he's actin' like a bitch”

The producer seems to have come into this business expecting to make a name for himself and a good amount of profit. He believes himself to have been destined for success. With the passing of time, he keeps waiting as if for some sign that he’s “made it,” counting every moment until he reaches success. He had plans for how his life would go, but life and time make their own plans regardless of the ones you attempted to create. It reminds me of the saying, “man plans and G-d laughs.” The producer may plan his entire life, but if one small piece of the plan changes or doesn’t go exactly as planned, it would appear to have failed. This may not be the case, if one can have an objective outlook on their life they may see that not everything goes as planned, but most everything works itself out in the long run. “Life’s a bitch” is also a common phrase for when things don’t go your way, and Labrinth takes advantage of this sentiment in relating success to the time it takes to achieve.

Labrinth deals with struggling to reach success and seems to look to religion and God for guidance, wondering when God is “...gonna give me my piece of the pie”; this “pie” referring to his share of fame and fortune. Or rather, success, which can come without the toxicity of Hollywood fame. We’ve all seen a few too many celebrities go down the classic (and cliche) rich and famous path, only to burn out some time later, or end up down a very dark, oftentimes destructive path. Labrinth seems to show that he chases personal success, which comes at a cost, but it is for his benefit and growth. He is working towards something great, creating a product that the masses will cherish. Even though it is a tedious and long process, “The Producer” allows the artist to thrive through their struggle.