Seattle Rain and Bay Area Thunder: The 20 Best Songs Produced By Blue Sky Black Death

By Ben Niespodziany

Here is the rundown, the finest tracks from the eight year history of production duo Blue Sky Black Death: Seattle rain and Bay Area thunder. Pacific Northwest lightning. Members Young God and Kingston take their craft seriously, having traveled from boom-bap to soul sampling to cloud rap to shoegaze dripping in lean on the way to filling my hard drive with a day's worth of music.

BSBD's diversity makes them worthy of discussion in not only the hip-hop scene, but also in the wider music world, so, on the eight year anniversary of their debut album, we ranked the 20 best songs produced by Blue Sky Black Death, from Gunplay remixes to beats for Jean Grae and Gucci Mane to their own dreamy instrumental output.

Jump in.

“On A Bitch” is the standout from Nacho Picasso and BSBD's second release, Lord of the Fly, possibly my favorite of their three projects. An eerie synth loop remains constant while a handful of drum selections wind their way through the instrumental. Tribal drums and an ominous bass remind you that no one is playing around. While this is about BSBD's production, it's impossible to not mention the three and a half minutes of Nacho finishing almost every bar with “on a bitch.”

Bitch.

A somewhat surprising remix for The 1975's Sex EP, this song includes nature sounds and a glacial beat that threatens to freeze time forever. It is running water, it is a dream where the poppy Manchester vocals are unrecognizable, bubbling, and divine.

“Missles” can be found on the Lost and Unreleased compilation that BSBD dropped back in 2009. It is more energized and playful than the bulk of their work (perhaps why it was never properly released), but the experimental layers and grooves provide the backdrop for one hell of a dance party.

Very few songs sound better than this in the car. This is another gem from Noir, my favorite BSBD project, and also sounds incredible slowed down as a seven minute epic on Noir + Violet, their lean-drenched screwed release.

The first two Strange Journey releases from CunninLynguists were standout projects. BSBD hopped on the remix for “The Park”, making it very West Coast, full of high synths and horns. It's the sound they create so well, but filled with a little more optimism on this remix.

BSBD joked on Twitter months ago that this was the first cloud rap instrumental, made four years before Clams Casino even considered emailing Lil B and Soulja Boy and years before Main Attrakionz and a large chunk of Oakland artists started a movement. To this day, “Chloroform” still sounds spacey, cloudy, and fresh.

Eight years old and it still sounds new. Rob Sonic and Mike Ladd bounce back and forth while BSBD provide a slow moving guitar-based beat, one that instantly takes a turn for the glorious. “Long Division” shows their early potential, and it's crazy to see how far they have gone since their first release, A Heap of Broken Images.

“Bloody Murder” kickstarts Exalted, the third album by Nacho Picasso and BSBD. While a fourth release has been announced, the three projects work perfectly as a trilogy and “Bloody Murder” is a fine beginning to the final chapter. It's very bass heavy and pushes you instantly back into the world of the Seattle storm artists.

The Razah's Ladder LP with Hell Razah is the most hip-hop BSBD seem willing to go. They created a horn-heavy, sample-driven LP, even sampling The Boondock Saints, Training Day, Ghostface, and Jay-Z. Despite BSBD being from the Pacific Northwest, Razah's Ladder is a very East Coast album, and the title track is the main attraction. Why? Well, because of those horns, and because Razah starts his verse by calling himself Robin Hood in a Champion hoodie.

It's hard to describe this thirteen minute song: a track they released as a standalone on their Bandcamp back in 2012. BSBD defined it as "ambient" and “heroin music.” Perfect for meditation, bedtime, and apparently narcotics.

Sampling Etta James' “Something's Got a Hold on Me” (before Flo Rida and Papoose), BSBD turn the famous track into a gospel church anthem, to be screamed from the rafters, while Jean Grae nails her inspired verse, mimicking the flow of Jay-Z's “Threat.” The instrumental builds and builds until you can't handle it any more and you're up on your feet, praising all that you believe in.

The rapper lineup alone should grip you. With one hell of an eight-year resume, BSBD haven't worked with many mainstream artists. Gucci Mane is one of the few exceptions and “Keys” is a prime example of why the production duo should be bigger, making millions in a futuristic studio. Instead, they are the underground instrumental kings, one of a very few who can create a movie with simply sound.

MondreMAN's M A N EP, curated by the stellar DreamCollabo, is one of my favorite projects of recent memory. BSBD hopping on the remix for “Can't Live Without You” only enhances the prowess of the Bay Area cloud rap that was so evident in 2011 and 2012.

One of the first songs by BSBD that I really listened to. This was back in 2008. Despite the depressing title, the song is rather uplifting. It takes flight in under four minutes and shows you the world—the ups, the down, violins and all. It's pretty and dismal at the same time. It's a blue sky with black death. Embrace the breakdown.

Taking segments of Child Actor's original “This Is It” and reworking it for Farrar, BSBD craft a perfect platform for the North Carolina rapper's sobering street tales. Child Actor's background vocals only make it more haunting, as if the darkness is actually beautiful. Hopefully we see a follow-up EP between Farrar and BSBD in the future.

Cam'ron and BSBD on the same track? I hope you've heard this one before. The instrumental includes an Asian vocal sample and some waterfall synths. Cam'ron shouts out Atlanta and funerals. Welcome to the Valley of Kings.

This track can be found on the LP Slow Burning Lights, one of BSBD's more mellow releases. It is perfect for the autumn, with Yes Alexander moaning and crooning her emotions to the sea, while BSBD keep it subtle with a steady drum beat and building piano parts. The song is both eerie and beautiful at once, as Alexander sings things like, “I want to go dancing,” and, “your tattoos will slide off your skin.”

BSBD get down on some dark, synth-filled hip-hop production for this remix of a Gunplay/Toothtaker track. Given the lineup, it's safe to assume that this track is highly animated. But if the quaking drums and multiple layers make you dismiss the lyrics on first listen, make sure you hit repeat to catch Gunplay's series of one-liners.

Many people's introduction to Nacho Picasso was this song, the intro to his and BSBD's collaborative debut For the Glory. The single has Nacho repeating, “I've been a bad guy since my dad died,” with building, constantly unfolding production. 500 layers of drums, wind chimes, piano solos, and fuzzy feedback compliment Nacho's snarling grimace.

One of the first things that grabbed me about Blue Sky Black Death was their name, stated on their Wikipedia as, “a skydiving phrase alluding to beauty and death.” On “Sleeping Children are Still Flying,” their opus, they again refer to soaring through the skies, with production that involves "Stand By Me" samples, heavenly instrumental layers, and big dreams.

This song is perfect.