On Monday moody New Jersey producer Clams Casino (aka Mike Volpe) and local rapper Vic Mensa teamed up to make a track in two days. Collaborative tracks are beyond commonplace in hip-hop, but this particular endeavor was framed in an uncommon light; it was streamed live on YouTube and presented by HP, which provided Volpe with the Split x2 detachable laptop he used to make the beats. Volpe and Mensa worked in a pristine white room (probably the very same space HP used to film Volpe working on a track in the above promo for the event) as a team of folks buzzed all around them, helping pull off a tightly choreographed event—or rather, an experience that was as precisely executed as a live stream of a multiday studio session can reasonably be. YouTube viewers typed in their comments and ideas about the track, constructive or otherwise, some of which were used to help shape the final song, “Egyptian Cotton.” The official name of the event was “HP Presents: 2Days Beat,” which refers to the time frame Volpe and Mensa had to finish their song.
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“Nothing like this has ever been done,” Mensa said at one point as I watched the pair tossing around ideas Monday afternoon. Yes and no. On the most basic level, the affair was a corporate-sponsored musical collaboration, which, along with getting a song placed in an advertisement, is one of the ways musicians can build a sustainable career. As I wrote last year in a cover story on the relationship between local streetwear brands and rappers, these kinds of partnerships can help introduce both parties to larger audiences. When it comes to big companies working with musicians, it also leads to the creation of some fascinating songs and albums that might not otherwise exist and helps get that music to reach new listeners. For example, last year Reebok funded Action Bronson and Party Supplies’ wild and charmingly sloppy breakout mixtape, Blue Chips.
What differentiates Volpe and Mensa’s song is the method by which it was executed. Fans and curious YouTube viewers could watch the two make sausage on the fly and their comments could also be used to modify the track. It’s the kind of experiment that succeeds by virtue of engaging with fans, or at least providing a forum for fans to feel like they’re connecting with an artist or having a say in the track; throughout the block of time I watched Volpe and Mensa at work Monday afternoon I saw plenty of unhelpful comments (“i don’t like where they’re going with this song . . . sounds like some wack as sean kingston shit”), jabs at Mensa (“everyone > vic mensa”), and even some self-promotion (“follow me on twitter at @msalasmusic Im an up and coming musician myself.”), and I imagine almost none of that ever made it to the artists themselves. Seemingly nameless people dressed in black took select handfuls of comments and wrote them on the walls in cartoonish faux graffiti, threw them onto blocky signs, or rendered them into incandescent light displays—that’s what happened with Scott Barr, who provided a comment (“you both heavy hitters”) that, for reasons I don’t understand, was turned into a flashy light display for a forthcoming “Egyptian Cotton” music video.
