| "Kinda Like a Big Deal" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byClipse featuringKanye West | ||||
| from the albumTil the Casket Drops | ||||
| Released | April 20, 2009 | |||
| Genre | Hip-hop | |||
| Length | 3:26 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producers | ||||
| Clipse singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Kanye West singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| "Kinda Like a Big Deal" onYouTube | ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Rolling Stone |   [1] |
"Kinda Like a Big Deal" is a song by the American rap duoClipse, released as the first single from their third studio album,Til the Casket Drops. The song features a verse by fellow American rapperKanye West. The cover artwork is made byKAWS.
"Kinda Like a Big Deal" was produced byDJ Khalil andChin Injeti.[2] It was the first song by Clipse not produced bythe Neptunes, the duo's frequent collaborators.[3]
The song's instrumental is based on anelectric guitar,[4] played by Chin Injeti.[2] He recorded 10 minutes of material,[5] which Khalil later sliced into smaller fragments and used to build the instrumental.[6] According to him, he achieved the song's distinctive sound accidentally:Reason software he used to sequence the song had amastering suite, which he applied before the track was finished.[7]
After the instrumental was finished, Pusha T and his manager visited Khalil's studio. Despite falling asleep from exhaustion, upon hearing this beat Pusha T woke up and started rapping to it. He left the studio with the beat,[2] and several months later informed Khalil that the duo recorded the song using it.[8] The song also included a verse from Kanye West, which was originally intended forT.I.'s song "On Top of the World" off the albumPaper Trail.[9]
The producers faced issues whilemixing "Kinda Like a Big Deal". Four versions of the song were created, with Kanye West's frequent collaboratorMike Dean andDr. Dre's mixing engineer Steve Baughman recording their versions. DJ Khalil created the final version of the song.[10]
With "Kinda Like a Big Deal", DJ Khalil and Chin Injeti were aiming to recreate the 1970srock sound.[11][12] In an interview withExclaim!, Chin Injeti said they were "trying to get a vibe like something fromApocalypse Now meetsthe Meters".[13] The beat, described byRolling Stone'sChristian Hoard as "rumbling",[1] is centered around a section from Injeti's electric guitar solo.[14][15] DJ Khalil applied several sound effects to it, including areverb andwah-wah.[16] He then accidentally applied a mastering suite, drastically changing the sound.[7] Khalil himself describes the resulting sound as "smashed,overcompressed" and says he did not fully understand how it worked.[17][18] "It somehow controlled the chaos", said the producer.[19]
Several other elements are present throughout the song. Once DJ Khalil was done with the guitar, he added apercussion loop. Due to the lack ofquantization, he adjusted it by ear.[8] Roman Cooper ofHipHopDX described the percussion of the song as "primal drums".[20] After he was finished with the drums, DJ Khalil also added anelectric organ, abassline, and various sound effects, including a sound which he describes as a screaming voice,[8] created using a heavily modulated guitar sound.[21]
"Kinda Like a Big Deal" was initially scheduled to release on March 9, 2009, but was postponed.[22] The duo premiered the song on theVirginia Beach radio show "Talk of the Town" on April 20, 2009. Later that day they made the song available on their own Re-Up blog.[23] "Kinda Like a Big Deal" was released as the first single from the duo's fourth album,Til the Casket Drops,[3][24] featuring a cover art designed byKaws.[25] According to Pusha T, the duo planned a larger release, but as they weremastering the song it wasleaked online, forcing them to release it earlier than planned.[26]
An official remix featuringBun B was released on April 30, 2009.[27]
A music video, directed by Bernard Gourley, was released on June 23, 2009. It was shot in aBrooklyn apartment building and features Clipse and Kanye West rapping while sitting in a dimly lit stairwell and riding an elevator.[3][28]
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USBubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles (Billboard)[29] | 19 |
