We often talk about how music has changed in the past decade or so. The internet decimated the music industry, the album format often feels like a relic, and, most importantly, there's so much material to listen to these days.
One way that's less discussed is how easy it's become to hear music that was never meant for public consumption. The best artists of our generation aren't just churning out classics off the top of their heads; instead, the best songs are often the result of months of work and many, many people chipping in ideas. The internet has surfaced a veritable treasure trove of demos and reference tracks, the versions of songs that we would never have heard, but now find their way to dedicated fans by way of YouTube and SoundCloud uploads. And, even as drafts, these songs provide a window into the songwriting process that often yields details that we never noticed in the official versions. Complex rounded up some of the best (and most interesting) reference and demo tracks out there that, while never actually released, are absolutely worth a listen.
Rihanna "Umbrella" (2007)
Producer: Tricky Stewart & Kuk Harrell
Songwriters: Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, Terius Nash, Shawn Carter, Kuk Harrell
Demo by: The-Dream
Official:
Kanye West "Homecoming" (2007)
Producer: Kanye West, Warryn "Baby Dubb" Campbell
Songwriter: Kanye West, Chris Martin, Warryn Campbell
Demo by: Kanye West, John Legend
Official:
Beyoncé "1+1"
Producer: The-Dream, Tricky Stewart, Beyoncé Knowles
Songwriter: Terius Nash, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, Corey-Jackson Carter, Beyoncé Knowles
Demo by: The-Dream
Official:
Lil' Kim "Queen Bitch" (1996)
Producer: Carlos "6 July" Broady, Nashiem Myrek
Songwriter: The Notorious B.I.G.
Demo by: The Notorious B.I.G.
Official:
Drake "Company" (2015)
Producer: Allen Ritter, Travis Scott, WondaGurl, TM88, Southside
Songwriter: Allen Ritter, Ebony Oshunrinde, Jacques Webster, Byran Simmons, Joshua Howard Luellen, Aubrey Graham, Jahron Brathwaite
Demo by: Partynextdoor
Official:
Beyoncé "6 Inch" (2016)
Producer: Danny Boy Styles, Ben Billions, Beyoncé Knowles, Boots, Dixie
Songwriter: Abel Tesfaye, Beyoncé Knowles, Danny Schofield, Terius Nash, Benjamin Diehl, Ahmad Balshe, Noah Lennox
Demo by: The Weeknd and Belly
Official:
Drake "Legend" (2015)
Producer: Partynextdoor
Songwriter: Aubrey Graham, Jahron Brathwaite, Timothy Mosley, Stephen Garrett, Benjamin Bush
Demo by: Partynextdoor
Official:
Rihanna "What's My Name" (2010)
Producer: StarGate, Kuk Harrell
Songwriter: Ester Dean, StarGate, Traci Hall, Aubrey Graham
Original:
Rita Ora "RIP (Ready For You)" (2012)
Producer: Chase & Status, Stargate
Songwriter: Aubrey Graham, Farhad Samadzada, Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Nneka Egbuna, Renee Wisdom, Saul Milton, William Kennard
Demo by: Drake
Original:
Beyoncé "Irreplaceable" (2006)
Songwriter Shaffer "Ne-Yo" Smith, Tor Erik Hermansen, Mikkel, S. Eriksen, Espen Lind, Amund Bjørklund
Producer: StarGate, Beyoncé Knowles
Demo by: Ne-Yo
Official:
Jamie Foxx "Fall For Your Type" (2010)
Producer: Noah "40" Shebib, Rico Love
Songwriter: Noah "40" Shebib, Aubrey Graham, Noel Campbell
Demo by: Drake
Official:
Rihanna "Work" (2016)
Producer: Boi-1da, Noah "40" Shebib, Kuk Harrell
Songwriter: Jahron Braithwaite, Matthew Samuels, Allen Ritter, Rupert Thomas, Aubrey Graham, Robyn Fenty, Monte Moir
Demo by: Partynextdoor
Official:
