This week, music lost one of its greatest legends — Aretha Franklin, The Queen of Soul.
It seems everyone has been inspired by the singer’s voice, undisputedly one of the very best our world has ever known. Take any artist of any genre and chances are they’ve been impacted by Franklin’s soulful sound at one point or another.
Gramatik is one of those artists and he has been sampling Aretha for years. Recently, he produced three new beats for his forthcoming SB5 project featuring her voice, and in light of recent events he decided to put this one out as a tribute to remember the goddess. 
Along with his new release, “Let Me Know The Way,” Gramatik offers some background on the beat and expands on his deep connection to Aretha’s music.
Back when I was in 8th grade, I discovered sampling and found out it’s the basis of hip hop production and culture. I was captivated by this art form and she was one of the first artists I sampled in that same week. Over the last 15+ years, I’ve sampled her countless times and learned the craft through sampling her amazing discography. 2 of the most prominent beats of mine with samples of her are “In This Whole World” and “I’m Free”, and even to this day, coincidentally, I made 3 beats last month for SB5 with samples from her songs, this is one of them. She was a force of nature, a voice of a generation and an inspiration to us all. We will miss you dearly, my Queen.
It’s a challenge for any artist to match the powerful energy of Aretha Franklin, but Gramatik does her some serious justice through his beautiful tribute. Hopefully she’s listening and loving this vibe. Real recognize real.
RIP.
Gramatik – Let Me Know The Way (Aretha Franklin Tribute)
Photo via Gramatik
