"I'm God" | ||||
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Instrumental by Clams Casino and Imogen Heap | ||||
from the album Instrumental Relics | ||||
B-side | "I'm the Devil" (vinyl) | |||
Released | 2011 (unofficial) April 24, 2020 (official) | |||
Recorded | c. April 2009 | |||
Genre | Cloud rap, witch house | |||
Length | 4:37 | |||
Label | Clams Casino Productions | |||
Songwriter(s) | Michael Volpe, Imogen Heap | |||
Producer(s) | Michael Volpe | |||
Clams Casino chronology | ||||
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Imogen Heap chronology | ||||
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Official audio | ||||
I'm God on YouTube |
"I'm God" is an instrumental track by American producer Clams Casino and British singer Imogen Heap,released officially on April 24,2020,through Clams Casino Productions. Clams Casino,real name Michael Volpe,created "I'm God" by sampling Heap's song "Just for Now" (2005),after learning of her through a friend. Volpe then sent the track to American rapper Lil B,who rapped over it. The final result appeared on Lil B's debut album, 6 Kiss (2009).
Volpe released "I'm God" unofficially in 2011 and again in 2012 as part of the Instrumentals 2 mixtape. Following years of unsuccessful attempts to clear the sample usage,it received an official release in 2020 as part of Volpe's Instrumental Relics compilation. A cloud rap song,"I'm God" is noted for its ethereal and dream-like aspects. It received a cult following on the Internet,being unofficially reuploaded by fans,including in the form of a music video that incorporates clips from the French film Perdues dans New York (1989). "I'm God" is considered a highly influential cloud rap instrumental.
Clams Casino,real name Michael Volpe,became serious about music production in late 2007,when he started publishing his songs online. Volpe was using MySpace to contact artists and rappers,sending free beats to them. As he was a big fan of the Pack,he decided to reach out to one of its rappers,Lil B. [1] Their first interaction was around September 2008 via MySpace,and Volpe later obtained Lil B's e-mail address. [2]
"I'm God" was produced around April 2009. [3] [4] The track samples "Just for Now" (2005),a song by British singer Imogen Heap. Volpe discovered her through a friend,who sent him a song for Volpe to sample. While not managing to do it for that song,he went through other tracks of Heap's and discovered "Just for Now". Volpe liked Heap's voice on the track and created different beats with it,including "I'm God". The sample is Volpe's favorite aspect of the song. [5]
Volpe said he did not find "I'm God" unusual or important and was indifferent to it at first. [1] [4] He sent the instrumental to different artists;the first person to have a positive reaction to the song was Lil B,who,according to Volpe,"freaked out". [lower-alpha 1] Lil B then recorded his vocals over it. [3] The final result appeared on Lil B's debut solo studio album, 6 Kiss ,released on December 22,2009. This was his first ever collaboration. [6] Lil B later showed the "I'm God" instrumental to Soulja Boy,who also rapped over it in his song "2 Milli" (2010). [7]
In 2011,the "I'm God" instrumental was unofficially released by Volpe on Zippyshare and Twitter. [1] [3] [4] The next year,it appeared on his Instrumentals 2 mixtape. [8] Originally,Volpe didn't consider the need to clear the "Just for Now" sample because he wasn't focused on the business aspects and didn't anticipate earning money from his work;he was simply sharing free tracks on social media for enjoyment. [1] [4] As the years went by,Volpe tried to have the sample cleared for an official release,but encountered issues as many people were involved,since "Just for Now" had been released through a major label. [1] Although Volpe's and Heap's teams were having trouble with the sample clearage,Volpe said that Heap was interested as long as she was credited;Volpe said she enjoyed "I'm God". [4] In 2019,Heap's team opened up to an official release. [4] On April 24,2020,the song received an official release as part of Volpe's Instrumental Relics mixtape after he got the rights to sample "Just for Now". Heap is credited alongside him. [3] [9] The song was released on streaming through Clams Casino Productions. [10] A 7" vinyl with "I'm the Devil" as the B-side was released through Second City Prints. [11]
"I'm God" is an instrumental cloud rap song. [3] Volpe's production was described as dream-like and delicate by The Guardian , [12] while MusicRadar said it was "sultry" and relaxed. [13] In the context of Lil B's version of the track, Randall Roberts of Los Angeles Times felt that Volpe made "I'm God" "sound as freaky as the rapper is chaotic". [16] Pitchfork writer Nadine Smith said the song "decays and disintegrates inside your eardrum", being innovative and ethereal. [9] Vice 's Dhruva Balram described the instrumental as "psychedelic", [3] while Smith thought the drum programming resembled boom bap more than trap. [9] Simpson described the drums as "sludgy". [15]
"I'm God" extensively samples a stretched-out version of Imogen Heap's "Just for Now". [3] Her vocals were edited to be of a "floating, angelic quality", according to Steve Shaw of Fact , [8] while Complex 's Craig Jenkins characterized the vocals as spectral, accompanied by soft bass and muted drums. [6] Jon Caramanica wrote to The New York Times that the song makes Heap sound more desolate than in her solo work. [14] Paul Simpson of AllMusic said that the vocals, which bring a deep, cavernous feel, were rearranged with a meticulousness akin to Philip Glass. [15] Smith described the sample as "unforgettable". [9]
Multiple writers described the "I'm God" instrumental as highly influential in the cloud rap genre. [1] [3] [4] Katie Cunningham of Red Bull described it as the genre's "seminal track", [1] while Vice's Balram said that the track was generally regarded as cloud rap's birth. [3] Schube of Complex described it as "a brilliant and stunning landmark" of the genre, [4] while Kyle Garb, writing for the same magazine, considered it a key track from the witch house era. [17] Spin named "I'm God" the seventh best track of 2011. [18] In 2012, NME wrote that it was "conceivably the most gorgeous backing track of the decade". [19] In 2013, Complex's Craig Jenkins called it one of the "25 Best Rap Beats of The Last 5 Years" and said that it stands out as the opening track of Volpe's discography, which was by then full of "majestic, oceanic production work". [6] Reviewing Instrumental Relics (2020), Smith of Pitchfork described "I'm God" as "the definitive Clams Casino recording". [9] Like the instrumental, Lil B's version is also considered an important and influential cloud rap song. [1] [13]
"I'm God" received a cult following on the Internet, [1] [3] [4] being one of the first known productions by Volpe. [6] [20] By 2011, the track had inspired people both to create tracks sampling "Just for Now" and to recreate the "I'm God" instrumental when it still was not available, [5] while also being considered the representative song of "based music". [14] [21] Smith said that, when it was released unofficially that year, it was "instantly iconic, immediately imitated, and impossible to recreate". [9] "I'm God" was shared on file-sharing services and unofficially uploaded to YouTube, SoundCloud and other social media by fans, becoming viral. [1] [3] Red Bull's Cunningham called it one of the most expansive hits from the era of hip-hop's blogosphere, which captured the interest of every Internet user with a craving for new sounds when it was unofficially released in 2011. [1] Schube of Complex said that the track had been pseudoviral for multiple years by 2016. [4]
An unofficial music video for "I'm God" which uses clips from the French film Perdues dans New York (1989), uploaded before the song's official release, had 25 million views by May 2020. The video became synonymous with the track. [3] Its comment section contains users mourning the death of people close to them. [1] [3] Balram of Vice said that "I'm God" has been associated with "stories of hope and recovery", [3] with Internet users describing the song's impact while they had depression; [3] Cunningham said that the song "resonated really deeply" with multiple people. [1] According to Balram, the song received a cult following partly due to two suicide stories being related to it: Billy Watts, who had posted the song to his Instagram account weeks before his death, and David Higgs, who referred to it in 4chan posts — although it is unconfirmed that he died. [3] The unofficial music video's title was updated as a tribute to Watts and Higgs. [3]
Adapted from the 7" vinyl liner notes. [11]
Imogen Jennifer Jane Heap is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. Her work has been considered pioneering in pop and electropop music.
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I'm Good may refer to:
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Michael Thomas Volpe, known professionally as Clams Casino, is an American record producer and songwriter from Nutley, New Jersey. Volpe is known for his work in production for several cloud rap artists in the early 2010s. He signed with Columbia Records to release his debut studio album, 32 Levels (2016), which narrowly entered the Billboard 200. He has produced songs for artists including ASAP Rocky, Lil B, Vince Staples, Joji, the Weeknd, and Mac Miller, and has remixed songs for Big K.R.I.T., Washed Out, and Lana Del Rey.
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