SiR Rollie is a 22 year old producer originally from Ontario, Canada who now resides in West Massachusetts, and has spent most of his life in Massachusetts. Influenced by artists such as J Dilla, Kanye, Mac Miller and Isaiah Rashad he is primarily focusing on sampling beats. SiR Rollie has been producing consistently for about 2 years.
This funky track has hauntingly good beats. “Stay Nice” is an upbeat song that has our heads bobbing, with new and unique sounds right from the beginning and though it sounds free style, Itchy Lung (featured in the song), also has a very methodical way of piecing his lyrics together. The lower vocal track found scattered throughout this dope track give depth and personality. A break in lyrics gives the listener a chance to absorb the music and can really get you moving around. There is a slight change in the track found about halfway through that brings some new sounds in, as well as a comedy break where SiR Rollie is chatting with his audience, which adds a little bit of character. The different layers in this song are so subtle, but when mashed together it really creates a sound that is addicting to listen to. I’ve honestly had this song on repeat and the way the song ends makes it extremely easy to listen to it multiple times without noticing – it’s that good of a song!
Give a listen to "Stay Nice" here, and keep scrolling for SiR Rollie's exclusive interview!
Hey SiR Rollie! What a funky track! Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I am a 22 year old producer originally from Ontario, Canada, but I am currently based out of Western Mass. I have been producing beats for about two years consistently now as well as producing for some of my homies. I focus on sample based production and I am also completely self-taught on music theory, production, and sampling.
What inspires you, artist or not, to create such a distinctive sound?
Haha, that's a very tough question because I could easily rattle off a ton of musicians, let alone artists, that inspire me. But a couple of the most influential would have to be Donuts by J Dilla, MadVillainy by MF Doom and Madlib, and Faces by Mac Miller to keep the list short. All of these albums create such a vivid world to me while simultaneously providing me with new ideas every time I listen to them. No matter what, I usually pick up on something new from relistening to them.
Since you focus on sampling tracks, do you like doing more freestyle songs or structured?
Personally, I enjoy the freestyle structure because it gives me more room to be creative. I get a bit bored by my beats if they follow the simple hook - verse - hook - etc etc etc. If I want the sample to just ride for four bars and create tension halfway through a beat, the freestyle structure gives me that option and I think this lends itself to making distinctive beats for vocalists. Gives me a lot of tools to separate my craft from everyone else out here doing it.
What are some challenges you’ve faced when creating such unique work?
I think one major challenge was the learning curve of how to actually sample and produce music. No one around me really had the skill or knowledge to show me how this is done so I turned to the only place that I knew could help and that was youtube. But watching videos will only get you so far. Really it was a lot of patience, dedication, and belief that I can do this that got me through that curve and to this day I'm still learning new tricks and techniques. Still got a long way to go haha.
What’s next for you in 2019?
2019 is a really big year for me. I have a fully produced project with a local rapper named T-Nug The Pheonix which should be coming sometime around fall. I also have a couple tracks with a really unique Atlanta rapper named Verso Turner. A collaboration with a local collective named Dazha Voo and co-producing my homie Itchy Lung's first album. And finally, I am planning on dropping a concept based beat tape that samples everything from Nigerian Jazz to the Twilight Zone. No release date yet on it, but I can easily say it is some of my most ambitious and best work to date.
Stay connected with SiR Rollie through the artists Instagram!