Musically I have drawn influence from Blacc's previous works combining elements of R&B, Hip-Hop and Jazz. The song is carried by a simple Hip-Hop drum beat and features piano, Guitar, Bass Guitar and Vocals. From listening to Blacc's albums I find that much of his music harks back to that of the soul singers of the 1970's like Otis Redding, James Brown or Marvin Gaye. He does this though in a modern context employing elements of pop and creates simple easy to sing choruses like in "I Need A Dollar," where the hook line is simply "I need a dollar, dollar, dollar is what I need." Ultimately I have attempted to follow this formula and take the music into a realm that differs from his previous works but still fits with his persona as an artist.
The introduction starts with full instrumentation however the piano melody is most prominent. I took influence from one of John Mayer's most successful "pop" songs "Waiting On The World To Change." My intentions were to create a catchy piano line that grabs the listener right away, as this is important to the success of a song in the mainstream industry. The piano then drops out in the verse as the vocals enter the mix and the guitar becomes more prominent. Here I intended to create a more vintage vibe that falls somewhere within the jazz or pop jazz genres. The chords, rhythms and guitar tone are influenced by the works of jazz-rock band Steely Dan. As I mentioned earlier, this is an area of music Blacc hasn't explored in depth but may suit his artistic style. The vocal melody in the verse moves with the rhythm of the chords, which at times is syncopated and takes cues from the vocal delivery of soul singer Curtis Mayfield who Blacc states in his web biography as a major influence in his writing. By creating a sense of familiarity with this new style I feel this could ease listeners and the artist into embracing a slightly different musical direction. The bridging section moves in a more predictable way rhythmically and melodically employing two chords per bar and a repeated descending piano phrase. This allows the vocal line here to move in a linear way that is more prominent in Hip-Hop, harking back to Blacc's early works. With the chorus I felt it was important to create a simple and catchy hook, both musically and lyrically similar to Blacc's most successful tracks like "I Need A Dollar." Like in that song the chorus here makes use of a three chord pattern while the vocals move in a similar motion reading, "Don't act like it don't matter, matter to who, don't matter to me." The guitar solo and middle 8 once again hark back to the works of Steely Dan and Curtis Mayfield. The music slowly builds in intensity with the intentions of increasing the impact of the final chorus.
The introduction starts with full instrumentation however the piano melody is most prominent. I took influence from one of John Mayer's most successful "pop" songs "Waiting On The World To Change." My intentions were to create a catchy piano line that grabs the listener right away, as this is important to the success of a song in the mainstream industry. The piano then drops out in the verse as the vocals enter the mix and the guitar becomes more prominent. Here I intended to create a more vintage vibe that falls somewhere within the jazz or pop jazz genres. The chords, rhythms and guitar tone are influenced by the works of jazz-rock band Steely Dan. As I mentioned earlier, this is an area of music Blacc hasn't explored in depth but may suit his artistic style. The vocal melody in the verse moves with the rhythm of the chords, which at times is syncopated and takes cues from the vocal delivery of soul singer Curtis Mayfield who Blacc states in his web biography as a major influence in his writing. By creating a sense of familiarity with this new style I feel this could ease listeners and the artist into embracing a slightly different musical direction. The bridging section moves in a more predictable way rhythmically and melodically employing two chords per bar and a repeated descending piano phrase. This allows the vocal line here to move in a linear way that is more prominent in Hip-Hop, harking back to Blacc's early works. With the chorus I felt it was important to create a simple and catchy hook, both musically and lyrically similar to Blacc's most successful tracks like "I Need A Dollar." Like in that song the chorus here makes use of a three chord pattern while the vocals move in a similar motion reading, "Don't act like it don't matter, matter to who, don't matter to me." The guitar solo and middle 8 once again hark back to the works of Steely Dan and Curtis Mayfield. The music slowly builds in intensity with the intentions of increasing the impact of the final chorus.