Logic is the new big kid on the block. The 24 year old emcee has done somthing seemingly remarkable: break through the cacophony of music and emcees to become noticed. A lot of that has to do with his latest album Under Pressure, which has earned almost univeral praise and sold 70K in it’s first week. A remarkalbe feat in todays era where streaming companies like Spotify and Pandora rule the day.

He’s come a long way. His last mixtape Young Sinatra: Welcome To Forever was, while intoxicating and gripping, not nearly as technically, skillfully or emotionally sound as this LP would come to be. And, with his new record in the mouths of hundreds of thosuands, if not millions of people, the young Maryland artist is prime to set the world on fire.

Some are calling Under Pressure this years GKMC, and some are calling him the next big thing in Hip Hop, but whatever you think of him, you cannot deny his honesty. He’s been very open about his past and his tumultuous childhood so we thought we’d take another route. Here’s stories behind the making of most of the records on the album, with a few life lessons finding their way into the conversation. And if you listen close, you may just hear the next big Rap superstar angling to come out.

Logic Explains “Under Pressure,” The “Intro,” and “Soul Food”

HipHopDX: The big quote out there is that Under Pressure is a cross between GKMC and Kanye West’s Graduation. How do you feel about that kind of comparison?

Logic: I think that when you make great music they compare you to great artists, and I think that for the most part they’re probably just talking about maybe the storytelling and the live instrumentation and stuff like that. But, at the end of the day, I truly believe that this is a Logic album and it’s my sound and that I really found myself. You know, Miles Davis says you have to play for a long time before you can play like yourself and I think this album is me playing like myself.

DX: Your abilities grow leaps and bounds between projects and now on the album you’ve improved in a huge way from the mixtapes up unto this LP. What accounts for that huge leap in skill level?

Logic: I think it’s finding myself. Like, on the mixtapes, I would talk about my family or just kind of what I’d been through. [I] definitely talked about race a lot, being black and white. But on this album I don’t talk about race at all, I talk about culture. So, for me, I think more-so when diving into this album… When I first created the song “Under Pressure,” the nine minute Hip Hop “Bohemian Rhapsody” like Queen [Laughs], I think that’s the first song I went, “That is who I am. That is me.” And it set the tone for the rest album when creating all the other records.

DX: You know, “Under Pressure” is nine minutes and twenty seconds and you did that in 2014 where everybody is worried about snippets. What was the idea behind that?

Logic: I was on tour with Kid Cudi at the time, which is so cool. Shout out to that guy. I was getting a lot of voicemails on my phone because I was so busy and at the time I just didn’t have the opportunity to call certain people back, even my own family. [But] only because I was so busy. And I had these honest real voicemails from my sisters or my father, my brother and all these different people, which you hear on the second half of the record. I just remember being in hotel rooms and I finally had the chance to call some of them back. But what I did was I transcribed those voicemails damn near word for word and just turned them into rhyme for the record. You know, I produced the beat and I just wrote. And, I was always so used to… I was always like the Fab, Big L, punch line braggadocios-ness on the mixtapes, but it was something about this record where when I wrote this first verse from my sisters perspective I was very like, “I don’t know… I don’t think this is that good.” ‘Cause I’m just thinking about the braggadocios-ness because I just want to impress people. I let all that shit go. All trying to impress anybody, and I was just like, “Man, I’m just gonna vent. This beat is my therapist right now.”

And then that’s how it all came about. But the crazy thing is the first part of the song didn’t exist. So technically, the second half was the entire song. And then I went home, and I went to the studio and we put the session in Pro-Tools and for whatever reason the only thing you could hear was that Eazy – E sample that I looped up. So it’s that, and then the crazy drums that’s really knocking. So that’s what turned into the first half. So then I heard that, and I was like, “This is a totally different song, this is crazy.” And then I went in and started producing other melodies with it. And then we brought in the live guitar and the cellists and all this stuff and it turned into something completely different. And for me it was about the duality of man. So it was about being “Under Pressure” as Logic and being “Under Pressure” as Bobby, and I knew it was going to go from this to that even though I already created this. So I was thinking how could I have a seamless transition to this second half, and that’s when I created the hook or the bridge. You know, “Work so fuckin’ much I’m scared that I’m gonna die alone / Every diamond in my chain, yeah, that’s a milestone / All these muthafucka’s asking me for money, man, the only thing I’m a give you motherfuckers is the dial tone.” And then that goes into the second half of voicemails. That’s weird. I’ve never told anybody that.

DX: [Laughs] So can you talk about the “Intro” and how that came together?

Logic: So the thing that I love about this is [that] you can give one artists ten different songs or instrumentals and you get ten different records. So for example, “N*ggas In Paris” was given to various emcees. Pusha T was one person who had it and passed on it, but it landed with Kanye and Kanye turned it into this incredible record with Jay Z. And so for me, that record was “Bound 2,” which actually No I.D. made, which is so funny, and then 6ix, my producer who did a large majority of the album… Sometimes we’ll look at some of our favorite songs and producers and some of their flips and say, “Oh, let’s flip that and do it different, though. You know, make it our own.” And he did that with “Bound 2” and the sample was “Aeroplane (Reprise),” and the crazy thing about this (I haven’t said this either) is that after he flipped that song and then I went in and I laid all my vocals, if you go and you listen to the end of the original sample there’s a bunch of children. But the BPM rides over the beat so when I tried to slow it down and put the break beat over it, it sounded like shit. So we literally replayed all the instrumentation ourselves. So we didn’t actually use the sample, we used the publishing, the writing, not the master sample. We didn’t just take it and put drums on it, we actually went back in and replayed it. And then at the end, I wanted that feeling of those children saying “You can ride on my aeroplane.” So,  I thought then, since I can’t use it I’ll have to try my best to recreate it. So I took the melody and changed it from “Aeroplane” to me. So it sounds like children, but that’s voice manipulation. That’s me going in and using things like the voice touch, which Timbaland uses and I turn that into, “You, can really do anything.”

DX: So I just wanted to get into “Soul Food.” Could you give us the story behind that?

Logic: “Soul Food.” Okay. Well, first, shout out to Kebu (Alkebulan) from Atlanta. So, I was on Soundcloud and long story short I came across this dude who rapped on this beat. So he is a producer and a rapper. And it was called “1970s” and it was this beautiful sample and crazy drums that he did. And I ended up hitting him up and saying, “Hey, man. I’d really like to use this for my album..” So, he gave it to me. We reproduced it even more. Me and Steve Wireman, whose all over the album doing guitar and things like that. You know, we made the drums a lot fatter. And then the sample didn’t get cleared. So the opera singer… the original didn’t get cleared. And we had it chopped up so technically we had a new melody. So once we got rid of the master the publishing was completely different. But, I didn’t know what to do. Because there was a moment in time when I thought I was going to have to scrap the record, and I was like… Because the sample was so incredible that I truly feared I wasn’t going to be able to recreate it. Then, I contacted DJ Khalil. Who is a phenomenal, legendary producer and I was like, “Yo, can you help me? Can you do this?” He was the only person that I thought in my mind like, “Of all the people I know, who would be able to do this?” And he recreated it, and it was amazing. So, he had this opera singer come in, and some other people laid some more strings and all kinds of stuff and we just went through it. But the second half was produced by 6ix. And he did that on his own. We did that like a year before I did “Soul Food.” And, I don’t know, I had hung on to that for so long because I loved it, because that was actually a second part of a different song that was a two part song. So I just took it, and it fit, and I put it on there. Because after that intro, I mean, it’s a very Hip Hop album, right? It’s a very Hip Hop, a very musical album, but it’s Hip Hop. It’s raw. And the intro is not that. It is very beautiful and musical and melodic. So I wanted to fuck people up so when they hear it for the first time and they’re like, “Ah?” People are going to be like, “What? Why does everyone say this album is incredible? This motherfucker’s singin’ and shit.” And then after that, I hit you with six minutes of raw lyricism. And, people ask me… They say, “Do you think this album is gonna change Hip Hop?” No. I don’t think my album is gonna change Hip Hop, but I think it’s gonna change how my fans view Hip Hop. And that’s why I made those songs in that order.

Logic Tells The Stories Behind “Never Enough” & “Metropolis”

DX: We saw that you interpolated Kid Cudi’s “Pursuit Of Happiness” on “Never Enough” along with a “So Fresh So Clean” sample. Can you talk about that?

Logic: So, everything is extremely conceptual on the album, [and] this was done by DJ Dahi who did “Money Trees,”“Worst Behavior,” “My Type Of Party” by Dom Kennedy… So I was a huge fan of him and so when we got in to the studio I was like, “Man, let’s just feel it, bro!” And he just played me some crazy ass shit. I picked one. It was kind of a skeleton beat at the time. And he just went in and produced it to what you hear today. And I thought I wanted to do something different. So I thought, “How can I talk about money, bitches, drugs, partying…” So that the surface level, ignorant motherfuckers could be like, “This is crazy!” But it would have a true underlying meaning. Then it hit me! “As much liquor you drink, weed you smoke, bitches you fuck, money you get…” Even in the corporate world or whatever. Wherever you are in your job, in your career… Wherever you are, you want more. It’s never enough. That was the concept for me. It’s never enough. Being here right now, this is incredible. But I want a million interviews with you guys. I want you guys to invite me back. I was a freshman on the XXL cover. I got there and I was like, “Ah, this is great.” I want my own fucking cover on XXL. I was on the BET cypher. I want Hip Hop artist of the year next year, fuck that. I’m appreciative. I mean, people are giving this album nine-plus-ratings. That’s insane! [But] I want a fucking Grammy. It’s never enough. When I win a Grammy, I’m going to want ten. When I get ten, I’m going to want twenty. And then I when I’ve mastered this I want to be an actor. Then I’m going to want to be in movies. So it’s never enough, and that was the concept for that song, and I’m really glad I could be kind of ignorant on that record.

Anyway, so it starts off like [goes into song]. And you can really hear the L.A influence. It’s almost like Project Pat meets Los Angeles. Just the hangin’ around with Terrace Martin and all those guys. Because L.A’s a beautiful place, you know? So that’s why for me on the entire album it doesn’t sound like the east coast, it doesn’t sound like the west coast, it doesn’t sound like the south, it just sounds like music, a culmination. So I do that fun Project Pat flow and that goes into the OutKast sample. So I kind of took the melody, which is the publishing side of things. So I didn’t take the master, and I kind of re-did it. Andre 3000 thankfully cleared the sample, which is amazing that he, I don’t know, must know who I am now. Like, I remember being on the school bus and hearing that song on the radio as a kid in the 8th grade. Like, that’s weird, you know? So for that to come back full circle…

And then the Cudi thing… I didn’t realize I had to clear that shit. I wasn’t even trying to do that. And then Def Jam and my attorneys were just like, “Yeah, we should probably just clear this just in case.” But Cudi’s my homie. That’s my bro. He is such a great dude. So we just hit him up and they were so cool about it. Then we had to contact Ratatat, who Cudi’s worked with before because they were writers on the song. And everybody was just super cool, like, very last minute and it was great. So, thank you.

DX: So I just wanted to talk about “Metropolis.” I’m a huge Bill Withers fan…

Logic: Bill Withers, that’s right. See, you do your homework. Thank you. Thank you, motherfuckers!

DX: And, you know, “Use Me.” How’d that happen?

Logic: So it’s a funny thing. It’s not a direct sample, it’s a recreation. So that’s just me putting together really dope drums and making it sound like the break. I think that’s what a lot of Hip Hop is. A lot of Hip Hop is like these drums sound crazy so you take it and you redo it because “Metropolis”… It’s a different… I believe Kendrick used this on “Sing About Me/Dying Of Thirst” because Like… Now Like is Pac Div who actually produced “Sing About Me/Dying Of Thirst” for Kendrick and that song is incredible. And I remember sitting down with him and talking about these similar type of drums and how crazy they were. And I ended up my version on “Metropolis” and I loved it. And I love what Like did with those drums and just the kick and everything that he did. So I produced this record with Rob Knox. And, he’s worked with like JT, a million different people. He’s like the hitmaker. Which is funny because he came down to my level. Not like, in a bad way, but instead of giving me the cliche´ hit, he came down and we made music together. I did the drums on that. And we were in there and I’m hitting the hi-hat… So I was doing it in Ableton. And as I’m doing that he just starts hitting the rhodes. So that’s how that all came together. But it did start, obviously, with the inspiration from Withers. And just giving it that new thump, though, because if you actually listen to that song, the drums are different. And I don’t want to use this term in a bad way at all but they’re like weaker. I don’t mean that they’re not as impactful or they’re not as incredible, but I mean all-in-all Hip Hop drums gotta knock, you know?  [Those] are just more about letting his vocals shine through. They’re just more relaxed. And, that pattern was definitely the inspiration behind it, but that’s when you hear the strings and that’s when you also hear Terrace Martin play. This is also where you hear my Bone Thugs inspiration! If you listen to the three stacks. You can hear that. You can hear my love for Quentin Tarantino. I love that.

“Metropolis” for me was originally supposed to be called “Trains, Planes and Automobiles,” because I talk about my experiences traveling the world because of music, my fear of flying, and all these different things. The first time I went on tour and sold out my first venue in Chicago, and I take you over to Europe. I talk about eating Belgian waffles for the first time and shit. I was on the train and it might have been from Amsterdam… Anyway, I get off the train and there’s Belgian waffles right there and I’m like, “I gotta have this.” And I wrote about it [Laughs]. I think that’s the least Hip Hop thing to write about, I guess. But I did. And then I say something about bumping Mos Def (Yaasin Bey). So it’s this fun little word flip about the train, the track, on the record and then it goes *raps a line*. Because for me, I don’t drink, I don’t smoke… I just quit smoking cigarettes, which I’m sure is something you’re gonna want to get in to in a second. So right now I have no vice except awesome interviews like these.