#015 | Ice Spice is Representing Women in the Drill Scene and Bringing Her “Unique Sound”

Muse-Letter 015 - April 11, 2023

Yoooooo! What's up fam!

Welcome back to The Muse-Letter. This week we are looking into Ice Spice making her mark in the drill scene and Ovy on the Drums shedding light on his creative process for producing worldwide hits.

I have included a survey towards the bottom of the newsletter for a possible course on Logic Pro I’m thinking of doing. I’ll be breaking down my creative process on the course too. Please give some time to complete that for me as it really helps!

I appreciate you having a read and being part of the Muse-Letter community. I hope you enjoy this week’s articles. Without further ado, let's get into it.

Today’s newsletter is sponsored by a free app I’ve been using - Session Studio!

Anytime I collab with people, I’m constantly using different apps to send stuff out. From Dropbox to WeTransfer, it gets so confusing.

Session Studio is a new app I’ve been using and the best part is it’s completely free!

I use Session to store all my stuff and collaborate with artists in one place.

Download Session Studio for free here: Free App Download

This Week in Producer News 📰

Ice Spice is Representing Women in the Drill Scene and Bringing Her “Unique Sound”

You have probably seen the new “Boys a Liar” song floating around. Well, that’s Ice Spice with PinkPantheress. Ice Spice has been releasing music for a couple of years, but people are starting to hear about her a lot recently and it’s pushing her into the limelight. She’s now one of the few mainstream women on the drill scene, and according to her, she’s bringing a unique sound.

“I feel like I’m bringing a new sound to people that they haven’t really heard before, being one of the few girls to bring drill to a mainstream level,” Spice tells Harpers Bazaar. “It’s refreshing and fun—I’m really enjoying it.”

You may have heard of some of her other popular hits like “Bikini Bottom,” “Munch(Feeling’ U),”, “Gangsta Boo” ft. Lil Tjay and “In Ha Mood”, which are all on her EP ‘Like.. ?’

"The response to my EP has been like a big warm hug from everybody that’s consuming the project,” she says. “I’m so proud of it and how fun it was to make, and I can tell that right now, this is an era I’m always going to cherish.”

Ice is continuing to write lyrics of her own, with Producer RIOTUSA so we can expect to hear some new things in the near future.

“I’m open to working with writers at some point when the time is right, but right now, I’m sticking to what got me here in the first place,” she admits. “That’s me being creative in the studio with Riot. We just cook up bops, we make vibes; I try not to think too hard and just really have fun.”

It’s sick to see more women in the drill scene, and I’ll be keeping an ear out for what Ice Spice cooks up. Check out her songs if you haven’t heard them before and show her some love.

Article of the Week 📜

Colombian Producer Ovy on the Drums Sheds Light On His Creative Process to Making His Massive Hits

Ovy On The Drums also known as Daniel Oviedo is an artist, producer and songwriter from Colombia who has produced with some of the biggest International stars such as Argentine singer Paulo Londra, Colombian Karol G, and Brit Ed Sheeran. Ovy is currently in Europe working on his first solo LP.

Ovy’s own venture is set to include collaborations with artists Quevedo and Ryan Castro, and not surprisingly, Karol G. Ovy spoke to Rolling Stone to discuss his creative process.

Ovy has been producing music since the 2010s, and is known for his collaborations with fellow Colombian, Karol G. The pair began working together in 2017 on Karol’s debut, “Unstoppable”. These two just released another sick track a couple of months back, “Cairo”. The end of the music video shows the duo standing in the Egyptian desert looking towards the pyramids. It feels like a full circle moment for these two who have made it from Colombia, to around the world sharing their music.

Ovy told Rolling Stone, “I live my life like a normal person. I’m having a hard time grasping the full dimension of everything that’s happening.” Ovy definitely sounds like a humble guy who just loves to produce music and share it with the world.

Ovy worked on the song “Bichota” and the smooth Nicki Minja collab “Tusa” which gave an insight into his producing style. Ovy prefers unique rhythmic patterns and includes quite a futuristic sound while creating different moods throughout the track.

When asked about what his creative process is like, Ovy responded, “I don’t think anyone could possibly imagine everything that I feel in the recording studio. The world around me disappears — it’s just the music and me. I’m completely absorbed by the desire to do something new and fresh, something that hasn’t been done before. I call that the muse and the truth is, she doesn’t just show up every day. But when I did “Provenza,” the muse was definitely there. I must have recorded the backing track in 15 or 20 minutes. When something like that happens, I feel it’s because it was already written. I feel like a painter, or a little boy playing with his toys. My problems are all gone; nothing else matters.”

“I look at the Global Top 50 only because I’m in the industry. I listen to the current hits so that I can avoid all those things and do something completely different. When I get to work, I don’t engage in thinking. I do it with so much love, there’s no need to plan ahead.”

Ovy talked about how he creates a salteadito effect with his music. “That salteadito effect started as a loop you would use in trap, like 120 BPM. I took that and performed surgery on it, adapting it to my liking. At that point, I realized that the downbeat couldn’t be dembow or straight-ahead reggaeton. It wouldn’t match. I replaced the snare with the sound of a tom, which of course plays a completely different role in percussion. I then added an electronica-like kick, and it was a match made in heaven.”

“I got some snares on the downbeat and changed them so that they emoted a tribal house vibe, like banging on a metal jar. The key to that song is the bass line [begins humming.] It’s funny because the percussion on “Cairo” is really bizarre, something completely different. At the end of the track, I couldn’t resist and added some electronica to it, like an explosion of house music.”

It’s really interesting to gain an insight into how other producers create their beats, especially ones that are having such worldwide success with their tracks.

It was interesting to learn that Ovy studied music more deeply and how he includes his knowledge into the production process. He said to Rolling Stone, “I studied music at one point in my career because I wanted to understand everything that I was doing empirically. I knew that down the line I would work with great musicians, and I wanted to be ready when it happened. If I’m in a nostalgic mood, I use the knowledge that I acquired at college: scales, counterpoint and minor chords. When I wrote “Mamiii” with Karol, I was in a melancholy state. Sure, it’s a party song, but my inner feelings still came through, and the song grooves with that bittersweet combination. This is one of the reasons why I love music so much.”

I love hearing how other producers put their signature on beats. It helps me find new ways to adapt and mess round on my own tracks. Check out some of his beats if you haven’t heard Ovy’s stuff. You can start with “Cairo” below.

Recent YouTube Video 🎬

Making the Hardest Drill Beats with an Orchestra

Watch my latest YouTube video where I work with an orchestra to create some sick beats. I had a lot of fun making this one.

Logic Pro Survey

Hey fam. If you could take 3 minutes to take a survey for a possible Logic Pro course, I would really appreciate it! I’ll be sharing my creative process to making music through the course as well! I look forward to hearing what you have to say!

Want to Sponsor The Muse-Letter?

Thousands of music producers read this newsletter every week and we’d love to help you promote your product or service. Submit a quick form here and we will get in touch with additional details!

Thanks for reading this week's newsletter. I hope you enjoyed it and look forward to providing you with more content that helps you level up throughout 2023. In the meantime, make sure to take a look at the top-quality sounds I use on my website! 👇🏿

YouTube | TsunamiAudio | Instagram | Twitter | Discord

If you have any questions, ideas, or suggestions feel free to hit me up on IG! @prodbyocean

Appreciate you, fam.

-Ocean