There are songs in Hip-Hop that become a cultural phenomenon and Kanye West’s ‘POWER’ from his fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is certainly one of those.
Tomorrow (Nov. 22) marks the 10th anniversary of Kanye’s album which is often regarded as one of the best releases of 2010s across all genres. So it was only right that we took a trip down memory lane with focus on ‘POWER’, the lead single from the classic LP that set the tone for what the music world was about to be hit with.
‘POWER’ was released on May 28, 2010 with production coming from Symbolyc One aka S1 and additional contributions from Mike Dean, Jeff Bhasker and Kanye himself. Built around samples of ‘21st Century Schizoid Man‘ by King Crimson and ‘Afromerica‘ by Continent Number 6, it was an important single for ‘Ye who was coming off a singing heavy album (808s & Heartbreak) and a controversial encounter with Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.
S1, a relatively unknown producer at the time is the one who supplied the essential skeleton of the genre-bending song to Kanye. When Kanye’s close associate at the time, Rhymefest made Kanye hear the beat for the first time, the G.O.O.D. Music boss said it made him “want to rap again.”
After the initial push with the help of an eye catching placement, S1 went on to produce for Eminem, Logic, The Game, Drake, Lecrae, Lil Uzi Vert, Lupe Fiasco, Beyonce and even Madonna. He has also co-produced Meek Mill’s brand new single ‘Pain Away‘ featuring Lil Durk, taken from his Quarantine Pack EP, which released Friday.
For our third interview together, S1 and I talked about the legendary status of ‘POWER’, how the song was made in Hawaii, the original chorus featuring Marvel characters saying “power,” the verses that didn’t make the cut, the chanting sample being remade in the studio, what artists he’s been working with lately, and more. Check it out below.
HHNM: Congratulations to you on the 10 year anniversary of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Such a monumental time. We all agree that itâs one of the best albums of all time and a song that you produced was really what kicked off the whole campaign. How do you feel about that being such a big turn in Kanyeâs career?
S1: Itâs a blessing, man. Just to be a part of that. You know, that moment in my life and career, working on that album and that song was really my turning point in my career so it was just an exciting time. I remember just being out in Hawaii with all these people that I looked up to and had a big influence on me and Iâm actually working with them. Not to mention just being in there with Kanye. So just being a part of that, the energy was just amazing, man. Itâs one of those things to where every day while weâre in there working and listening to these songs, we knew it was something special.
In my case, it was one of the hardest things too because everything was so secretive and quiet. I couldnât really tell anybody that âhey, Iâm going to Hawaii to work with Kanyeâ, âIâm working with himâ, or âI got this songâ or âIâm about to have his next singleâ. Like, I had to be quiet, so it was just kinda, a lot of anxiety (laughs). But it was a great time, man. It was definitely one for the books.
Yeah. Youâre so excited about something which is potentially gonna change your life but you canât tell anybody about it. Iâve been through those moments, itâs such a weird moment to be in.
Oh yeah, definitely man. Definitely.
I know itâs a long story but just in brief, take us back to that moment when this happened, when you sent that beat folder to Rhymefest and he played that beat for Kanye in the studio.
Yeah. Like you said, I was working with Rhymefest who I was introduced to by my good friend Phonte of Little Brother. He introduced me to Rhymefest, I started sending him beats. Rhymefest loved the beat packs I sent him but it was a situation where he was at the end of his budget for his album. So he hit me one day, he was like âyo S, I love these four beats but I can only pay you for twoâ. After thinking about it, I was cool. I was like âman, just pay me for the two and Iâll just give you the other two beatsâ. I winded up giving him those and he recorded four songs and then I didnât really think anything of it. A couple months later, he calls me and heâs whispering. Heâs like âyo S, Iâm out here in Hawaii with Kanye, weâre in the studio. Send me some beats over and if I get the opportunity, Iâll try to play him someâ. I was like âcoolâ. I go to my computer, put some beats in the folder, send it over to him. A week passes by, a week and a half passes by and I havenât heard from him, so Iâm like âokay, either Kanye wasnât feeling the beats he played or Rhymefest didnât get to play the beats for himâ. So I forgot about it, I was like âokay, that didnât work outâ.
But about two weeks later, Rhymefest sends me this text and when I get the text and read it, it says âKanye is loving your stuff. He just said heâs about to change your life.â
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(Laughs) Yeah, I remember reading that in your memoir.
(Laughs) Yeah. So, Iâm looking at this text and just tripping out over it. Then I end up getting an email from Don C who was serving as Kanyeâs manager at the time. He basically told me âyo, weâre flying you out here, get to the airportâ. I wind up doing that. Got to Hawaii, went straight to the studio. It was about 2AM. When I got there, it was Rhymefest, Kanye and an engineer in the room. So, I walked through, Rhymefest introduced us. Kanyeâs like âyo, Iâm loving your beats, theyâre making me wanna rap againâ. He was like âI already recorded to one of the joints that you sent with the chants, Iâll play it for youâ. So he played it for me and it was the earlier version of âPowerâ. It was more stripped down, different chorus, different verses. But it was super dope. I remember just tripping out, listening to it. My whole thought process was like âwow, Iâm actually in the studio with Kanye and heâs rapping over my beatsâ. You know, Kanye was one of those top influential producers that Iâve always looked up to and was a big fan of his work. Thatâs pretty much how that went down.
“But about two weeks later, Rhymefest sends me this text and when I get the text and read it, it says âKanye is loving your stuff. He just said heâs about to change your life.â
So crazy. Kanyeâs mentioned before that âPowerâ is the first time that he actually wrote his verses, that was the turning point in his songwriting process. And heâs also mentioned that he spent 5000 hours crafting the song.
The âPowerâ joint? Yeah (laughs).
How many cuts were there of the song and how many times did you go back to Hawaii to finish it?
Oh, man. I went to Hawaii while working on the album maybe three times. The second time I went back there for another two weeks, thatâs when I actually found out that I had his first single. Thatâs when they were really diving into it, trying different things. There were so many different hooks, other people laying verses. Just trying to figure out what itâs gonna be, how the mix is gonna be and everything because this is the rollout song. But yeah, literally every day in the studio, Kanye would come in and he would pull that song up or another song up and just really dial into it. There was so much detail put into these songs, trying things and no matter who it came from, he would always keep the best. Whoever contributed the best part of the song, he would keep it. So for instance, if Iâm working on the drums for the song or Timbaland is working or RZA or No I.D. or whoever, heâs gonna listen to all of them and be like âokay, I like this oneâ or âI like this piece from hereâ. So heâs just taking pieces and rearranging⌠Itâs brilliant, bro. Itâs a whole new way of working and thatâs when I really started to realize the power of collaboration. Like, âokay, I have an idea, but let me get the best people for the job to build this idea for meâ. Instead me just being like âI know I can do the ideaâ. But if we use the strengths of everybody to create this idea, itâs gonna be so much better than just my mind. So that was a moment for me.
So crazy. You know the forum KTT, right?
Oh, yeah, KanyeToThe, yeah.
So our writer Akaash, he had a great idea. We made a thread and we told them that we are interviewing you, so we asked the fans if they had any questions about the song for you. They actually sent us some interesting ones. One of them is, âdid Kanye do any other concepts over the beat besides âPowerâ?â
Well, it was always the same concept. However, there were multiple versions, so many versions of the song. For instance, when I first heard it, when he first played the song for me, the chorus was chopped up with Marvel characters saying âpowerâ. So it was like the voices of Marvel characters chanting âpowerâ. He chopped it and he was saying stuff in between the song. He made a chorus basically out of chopping those together. The verses were completely different, but it was basically the same concept though. He always knew the concept, it just was different trying to figure out what was gonna be the final part of the song.
“It was always the same concept. However, there were multiple versions, so many versions of the song. For instance, when I first heard it, when he first played the song for me, the chorus was chopped up with Marvel characters saying âpowerâ. So it was like the voices of Marvel characters chanting ‘power’.”
Right. I think youâve mentioned before that there were several verses for the song which did not make the cut, many options that he had.
Yeah, lot of verses. (Laughs) I canât remember the verses. It was just the fact that he was rapping over my beats and Iâm like âoh this is really Kanye spazzing out over my beatâ.
That must have felt surreal. Another interesting question that one fan had. âIs it true that the chanting sample was actually remade in the studio?â
Yes it is true and thatâs crazy because even now when I listen to the song, I forget that thatâs the remake because itâs so good. Big ups Ken Lewis and Alvin Fields. Theyâre the ones that recreated that sample because we were having clearance issues so they went in and redid it but it sounds amazing. It sounds actually better than the original (laughs). They did an amazing job.
They did that at the studio in Hawaii when you were there?
No no, I think they did that in their studio. I think he sent it to them. I know Ken was telling me they hired a couple of people to come in and give it that effect. I think he said Alvin is doing some of the high notes, sounding like a girl too and they just recorded a bunch of them together.
Kanye is so crazy with all of these elements. I remember reading in your book when we did a piece earlier in January, you mentioned how the blessing of working with Kanye happened because you had given Rhymefest those free beats. Tell us about how upcoming producers can get inspired from that and learn from it.
That was something I really didnât know until months after the album was out. I had a conversation with Rhymefest and he basically told me âyo, no-one has ever looked out for me like you did in that situationâ. He told me âsince you blessed me in that situation when I needed your help, I felt like I had to return the favor and send that blessing backâ. So I always think to myself, âwhat if I would have told him no?â None of that would have existed. Itâs one of those things, just being of service to people just because youâre supposed to, not doing it for anything in return, it always comes back in a good way, as a blessing. But itâs all about your intent of how youâre doing something for someone.
“Itâs one of those things, just being of service to people just because youâre supposed to, not doing it for anything in return, it always comes back in a good way, as a blessing. But itâs all about your intent of how youâre doing something for someone.”
Absolutely, thatâs so true. What other collaborations are you working on now? I remember last time you spoke you had done some work with Eminem and J. Cole. What are you cooking up now?
Actually, quite a bit. I had a Meek Mill song drop yesterday so definitely check that, itâs called âPain Awayâ. I produced it with my guy Epikh Pro, itâs featuring Lil Durk. Iâve definitely been working with J. Cole a lot. I donât know what heâs doing as far as releasing, kinda just in the dark with a lot of stuff. Iâm still sending Em stuff. Heâs been asking for sessions, stems. Heâs very secretive (laughs). Oh, Iâve been working with Rapsody a lot and weâve been making some incredible music. Weâve got about maybe 14, 15 song right now. Super locked in with Rap. So her, and then I have a new artist Derek Scott whoâs amazing too. Weâve been releasing some music, released a couple songs, but weâre about to really start unloading and releasing some more bodies of work and more songs as well.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, S1 has released âSounds and Loops I made for MBDTFâ pack containing sounds he personally made while working on the album. You can get your copy here.
