DJ RootsQueen
Composer Michael Vincent Waller fuses Classical and Trap on his new song “SURVEY SAYS”, his first single from the forthcoming CLASSIC$ EP available this Spring.
By interwining the worlds of classical, hip-hop, and trap music, the song blends dreamy textures and minimal classical tones over a bouncy soundtrack. Female singer/rapper Shanique Marie of Jamaican collective, Equiknoxx, celebrates the pride and joy of unity and self-love on the vocals while co-producer Lex Luger flips MVW‘s original composition, “Love 1”, from his album Moments, into a hypnotic and mesmerizing sample.
“Classic$ blends hip-hop and contemporary classical music in a very hybrid setting. Rap music has sampled classical features for decades, but rarely do we see post-Philip-Glass minimalism incorporated, where these neo-classical cinematic influences are at the melodic core of the entire production. This sample-inspired composition process yields new results in the introspective and hypnotic textures in trap music.”
ABOUT MICHAEL VINCENT WALLER
Michael Vincent Waller is an American composer based in New York City. His music has been described as lyrical and introspective, drawing inspiration from impressionism, post-minimalism and world music. In collaboration with noted soloists and ensembles including R. Andrew Lee, Stephane Ginsburg, Dante Boon, the S.E.M. Ensemble, and Ensemble Dedalus, Waller’s work has been performed at Carnegie Hall, ISSUE Project Room, Roulette, Palais de Tokyo Museum, and SXSW.
MEET SHANIQUE MARIE
The first female of Equiknoxx, one of dancehall reggae’s most innovative production teams, Shanique Marie mixed her influence of Reggae with Jazz to create a fresh sound while keeping her other roots in R&B, Hip Hop on her critically acclaimed UNO EP. No stranger to the airwaves, her breakout single “Coconut Jelly Man” featuring Cali P enjoying worldwide rotation, being playlisted on radio stations in Switzerland and Amsterdam amassing over One Million streams, with constant play in the United Kingdom, Poland and in her homeland, Jamaica.
“‘Survey Says’ is about absolute positive self-worth,” adds Shanique Marie. “Working with Michael came naturally as we both came from classical backgrounds. I grew up as a trained jazz vocalist and Michael is a classical pianist. Everything just gelled. That’s why we are on a journey to create even more music to make people feel good”
LEX LUGER
Lex Luger has produced tracks on Rick Ross’s Teflon Don, Waka Flocka Flame’s Flockaveli (which he produced 11 of the 17 songs), Slim Thug’s Tha Thug Show and Kanye West’s and Jay-Z’s Watch The Throne. He is noted for using impossible-to-play drum-machine programming that utilizes the sounds of a Roland TR-808 in a fashion for which the original machine was never designed. Luger has also worked with artists such as Wiz Khalifa, Juicy J, Soulja Boy, Snoop Dogg & Tyga.
