THE BREAKDOWN: BIB SAMA.’S ‘XCHRA II’ [@BIBSAMA]

bib sama. is the effortlessly genre blending MC from London who’s latest project will transport you through a world of fun lyricism and producer porn in just under 15 minutes. It’s the second project from the XTRA series and below he breaks down his thought process behind each track and the trilogy as a whole.

‘XCHRA II’

XCHRA II is a sequel to XCHRA which is part of a trilogy. The XCHRA series was originally stuff that I was building on from PLATINUS ✧ but then it became its own series, its own journey, its own era; a lot of the sounds that I’m refining are going to be used for the next LP. Essentially XCHRA II is me focusing on rhythms – the drums, the tempo, how tracks make people move, how tracks make people feel. That’s why in a lot of the tracks I’m pulling from African, South American and American elements – especially in the production and the type of rhyme schemes I’m using. The type of vibe I’m offering overall is an upbeat tape – it’s meant to be much happier than XCHRA. I’m gonna drop bangers on bangers on your head for the whole year and then next year, you’ll see the real s**t.

baefriend

A “baefriend” is a partner you have both romantic and sexual relationships with – it might not necessarily be exclusive, but it still has the chance to become a wifey; that’s still the end goal. Even though I described it [in a situation where] you might not be exclusive, it’s still a fun pet name that you might use even in a relationship. If anything, I want it to be more of a term of endearment if you’re just using it casually. It’s gender neutral, it’s accessible. I feel like it’s the perfect example of what I mean by XCHRA II being an upbeat project as a whole. The key, the energy, the music video, everything is meant to be very lighthearted, very lovey-dovey, very cool and fun – not depressing like some of the lyrics I’ve written in the past. This is something that is meant to make people feel happy.

<3 my people

It’s an ode, an appreciation, to all the people in my life, all of my friends. I decided to take a slower approach just because I really missed rapping on BPMs slower than 130. I brought it down to 115 and slowed it down a bit to make it feel more digestible. You have more time to let the lyrics breathe – I feel like it’s gonna be such a fun track to perform aswell, [it] feels like a celebration. I can imagine people in a calm house, BBQ, [or] campfire setting, just being in touch with themselves and everyone around them. It feels much more acoustic than a lot of other tracks that I’ve done personally, because I didn’t lay any synths on it at all – just raw sample, bass, drums and some sound effects. I like how organic it feels compared to a lot of my other stuff and that’s definitely something I’m going to be exploring more. 

BBB

Big Boy Buffs is the anthem. I’m just flexing – I’m in my zone, having fun. Definitely something that I can imagine being played at events, parties [and] clubs and that’s how I [felt] when I made it, it’s a fun, party track. I love Baile funk so much, so that was something that in both ‘<3 MY PEOPLE’ and ‘BBB’ I was like, “Yo, I need that” I listen to it so much, it’s a shock that I don’t use it as much. I love how the track came out. I just love the production. I love the verses. I love the hooks. It’s just such a fun track.

pinky

It’s just a fun, tongue-in-cheek track. I want to say it might just be my favourite beat from the whole project. It’s a sound that I do want to explore even more, because it reminds me of what I was doing with PLATINUS ✧ in terms of the sound, energy and how I’m approaching the track. I love the drum pattern specifically on it – the skip of it, especially it being more trap influenced. This is what people would have been most familiar of me, and I feel like it’s definitely an example of me refining that kind of sound I was approaching with PLATINUS ✧ and it’s just a fun track, man. I can’t wait to perform it so much. 

REAL*PLAYZ

I never really thought I’d ever do a track like this. It sounds much more refined than something I would usually make, but it still sounds different to other people. I have an obsession with swag jerk music and beats [and] the resurgence of it – people like Subiibabii, in the UK we’ve got YT who’s been pioneering that for a couple of years now and he’s been doing it to a crazy standard as well. Even tracks like ‘BAEFRIEND’ and ‘REAL*PLAYZ’ borrows a little bit of it but it’s more African infused. With my production, I did give it my own flair and I’m just so happy with how it came out. The overall vibe of the EP is fun and I felt like I needed to end the EP off with a fun track that perfectly loops back together. Even though it [has dropped] at the end of summer, it’s definitely continuing summer. A lot of these tracks can be continued into autumn, into winter just to bring that light to your life – just carry it on. 

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