Yo pi’erre, you wanna come out here?

By Veronique Lalley

What happens when one of the most sought-after producers in hip-hop goes solo? In The Life of Pi’erre 4, 26-year old producer Pi’erre Bourne ditches his position on the sidelines and proceeds to grant himself a top-spot as one of the most exciting figures in hip-hop. I knew vaguely of Pi’erre Bourne from being Playboi Carti’s producer, or from the iconic producer tag, ‘Yo Pierre, You Wanna Come Out Here?’, that became a viral phenomenon following the success of Carti’s ‘Magnolia’. The line is sampled from The Jamie Foxx Show, and adds flavor to the tracks that Bourne has produced. I was introduced to TLOP 4 by my little brother while we were on vacation this summer; the project was released in June of 2019. I remember my brother, Fritz, telling me, ‘you need to listen to this top to bottom – the transitions are crazy’. I fell in love with the project instantly, and I argue that the project’s fluidity and experimental production elements facilitate to establish Bourne as a force to reckon with in the music industry.

Pi’erre Bourne’s production discography ranges from producing for the likes of 21 Savage, Trippie Redd, Travis Scott and more recently with the release of Jesus Is King, Kanye West. The producer is known for being able to do “a lot with a little”, and before leaving to pursue his own sound in 2016, Bourne was a sound engineer for Epic Records in Los Angeles, where he developed an eye for refining music based on song structure, bridges, and chord progressions, and was in charge of mixing music across all genres. Furthermore, his skill was not confined to just rap and hip-hop. In an interview with Billboard, Bourne suggests that his individuality came from his choice to leave Epic Records and build his own engineering job at Interscope Records. He says, “I’m comfortable in the studio, so it’s easy for me to be me whether I’m producing for someone, or helping out with a session, or if it’s my own.” Video game soundtracks are known to have highly influenced and informed Bourne’s sound, and this is indicative in the beats of TLOP 4, as well as the previous TLOP projects (TLOP 3 was released in 2016, before the release of Carti’s hit “Magnolia”). In an interview with Fader, Bourne recalls playing Street Fighter on a Super Nintendo with his high school friends, to which he downloaded the soundtrack and studied it accordingly. In regard to video game soundtracks, Bourne remarks, “A lot of that s*** is ahead of its time, and it goes unnoticed”. As aforementioned, the transitions and fluidity set TLOP 4 apart from other hip-hop projects released this year. Particular standouts include the transitions between “Feds” and “Be Mine”, “Ballad” and “Routine”, and “Stereotypes” and “Doublemint”. These seamless transitions highly emphasize the idea that Bourne is not afraid to experiment with tempo, melody, and strings, and finds unique ways to weave dialogue and producer tags into his pieces. In effect, Bourne is crafting his own unique musical autobiography. Bourne’s stage name is inspired by action-film character Jason Bourne, and like the Bourne films, TLOP 4 takes listeners on a journey. In the words of HIGHSNOBIETY, Bourne is “making psychedelia for the digital age”.

Many critique TLOP 4 for being too enigmatic and secretive, and those who have been following Bourne since his peak think that the project is inconsistent with his previous work, such as Playboi Carti’s “Die Lit”, which was released the previous year. A significant amount of Bourne fans were looking for a pure-rap with various features from other hip-hop artists that Bourne has relationships with. To me, the project presents an opportunity for Bourne to demonstrate who he is without being overshadowed by the people that he has made beats for; this is his story. I also argue that it is important to acknowledge that a project’s value may differ based on the aspects that you home in on. Generally, I home in on lyrics and melody, but there certainly are no overly complicated lyrical metaphors in TLOP 4. Bourne’s uniquely crafted beats are what resonate with me after I’ve finished listening to the project. In fact, TLOP 4 is one of the first projects to which I felt attached to the production elements, rather than the lyrics, which might explain for why this is such a nostalgic album for me. Pitchfork argues in their review of the project that it is ‘more a vibe than a statement’, which further begs the question, does music always need to make some sort of earth-shattering statement? Nonetheless, albeit a lack of a profound ‘statement’, it is the interstellar melodies that make TLOP 4 unique. Bourne’s project is, in my opinion, one of the most interesting and experimental hip-hop albums I have listened to in years, and it has opened my eyes to the intricacies of music production. Pi’erre Bourne resists categorization and has demonstrated that he can excel in more than one region of the industry. He is both the producer and the artist, and with this he is granted the creative license to control both sides of his career; this kind of control is rare. When speaking to Fader, Bourne remarks, “I’ve been in all of these shoes now... I’m really excited about what’s next for me, cause’ I feel like I learned everything I need to be Pi’erre Bourne”.