Shawny Binladen. Photo via publicist.
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Shawny Binladen's Instagram bio proudly announces his title as the "KING OF SAMPLES," a bold claim to be sure, but one the New York rapper has more reason than most to assert. The 27-year-old is a pioneer of "sample drill," a subgenre of rap with a catch-all approach to selecting samples: everything from well-sourced classics to songs released the very same year is fair game. Shawny has thrived in the overtly referential waters with tracks paying homage to Ms. Lauryn Hill and Yeat, his near-iconic whisper-growl flow bursting with the energy of a secret that just can't be kept any longer.
To avoid legal issues, Shawny has begun working with beats containing samples that are altered enough to fool the copyright detection that relies on AI and the old-fashioned sample snitches. It's a big shift reflected on his new mixtape WiCKMAN STiCKMAN — if there is a previously released song sampled here, it's been effectively disguised in a gritty, greyscale fog. The mood is at its most grim and triumphant on "HATE DATT," where Shawny celebrates his success over a bouncing club beat and hissing synth chords that sound like Squarepusher composing music for a funeral. "Signed that Maybach, I know they hate that / If you want smoke, dumb n**** say that," Shawny raps as though high on a combination of the new car smell and his own potential, unbound to any one scene, trend, or notion or rap.
