In the modern era of digital library sharing, sample pack abundance, and easy YouTube access, most producers can get their hands on the same sound sources as everyone else. That’s why Seattle’s Jake One uses sound design and production tricks to stay ahead of the competition. “In 2017 everyone has access to the same sounds,” he tells me. “What are you gonna do process wise that’s going to differentiate your shit from somebody else?”

The original sample for “3 Kings”.

Part of the process that helps Jake keep things fresh is his willingness to experiment with different equipment. And while his setup may remain relatively simple, one of his secret weapons is a piece of gear that few, if any, other producers have. “In the early 2000s a good friend of mine named Sampson had this stupid Aiwa stereo system and it had a karaoke button,” he explains. “It worked with CDs and it would drastically change the songs. I was like, ‘Damn, I could sample this and nobody’s even going to know what I’m using.’”

After hearing the unique textures the Aiwa system added to each song, Jake knew he had to get something like it for his own production rig. “That kind of piqued my interest and I was like, ‘Oh, there’s gotta be some other way to do this that isn’t this stupid Aiwa stereo,’” he says. “I researched it and found out about a vocal eliminator thing they made in the 70s.”

“Six sounds. It’s not anything too spectacular. But the right six sounds…that’s kind of my thing.”

With a karaoke machine now at his disposal, it took several years before Jake had a chance to use it on a major record. His first opportunity came after he ended a brief hiatus from beatmaking following the birth of his daughter. Once sleep became a regular part of his life again, he hopped back on the boards and started to shake off the rust.

Micro-Chopping Jake One — an exclusive 31-track playlist.

Not long after his return, the Just Blaze-produced Drake and Rick Ross song “Lord Knows” caught his ear. Inspired by the beautiful sample Just Blaze built the song around, Jake decided to craft his own gospel beat. Though he already owned plenty of gospel records and had a copy of Crown’s Of Glory’s God Save The Children in his collection since 2005, he’d never thought of using it as a sample source before. “I had a lot of gospel records, I just never really thought to use them in that way,” he said in an interview with for the Snare Jordan video series. “That song [“Lord Knows”] kind of brought me back to to those records.”

After flipping through the tracks on God Save The Children, “I’m So Grateful (Keep In Touch)” seemed perfect for the vibe he was going for. As much as Jake loved the possible samples in “I’m So Grateful”, he thought they needed some tinkering to get the sound just right for beatmaking purposes. To do this he used his karaoke machine to filter the samples while he chopped them up. “It kind of changed the sound and pulled the background vocals up and some of the instruments up and made ’em a little more prominent in the sample,” he said.

“I feel like Flex might have played it for an hour straight or something ridiculous.”

After using the karaoke machine on several other instrumentals, Jake still isn’t quite sure how it works its magic. “It definitely moved some stuff around,” he said. “I don’t know how it does it. Something to do with phasing and stereo mixing.”

The “3 Kings” edition of the Snare Jordan video series.

Much of the karaoke machine’s success seems to depend on the way the original sample source was mixed and mastered. “It’s effective on certain things and it totally doesn’t work on others,” Jake says. “It just depends on the mix of the record, if it’s panned far enough to eliminate the frequencies — however they recorded it.”

After nailing the karaoke tweaks on the “I’m So Grateful” samples, Jake also used an unconventional loop structure while composing the record to give it some extra distinction. “I don’t know why I did that,” he said. “This beats a little different in general. It’s a 12 bar loop. People usually do things on four: so four, eight, or 16.”

“It was just so crazy to hear something you did in your house play from every speaker in New York.”

Jake passed the instrumental along to a friend of his who worked as an A & R at Aftermath once it was completed. The beat later made its way to Kendrick Lamar — who ended up passing on the record — and eventually wound up in Dr. Dre’s possession. Dre and Rick Ross recorded something to his track, but its status remained uncertain for months after the song was done. With the song’s future unclear, Jake received multiple texts and calls from people close to Aftermath telling him how much they liked the record.

The official YouTube audio for “3 Kings”.

After a year of waiting, Jake’s phone rang. A label rep from Aftermath told him Rick Ross was using his instrumental for the song “3 Kings” on the God Forgives, I Don’t album. In addition to Dr. Dre, Jay-Z would also be on his track.

As luck would have it, Jake was scheduled to go to New York just in time for the Hot 97 premier of “3 Kings”. “When I touched down, the song debuted on Hot 97,” he said. “Nothing will ever quite feel like that again ’cause it was just so crazy to hear something you did in your house play from every speaker in New York. And I feel like Flex might have played it for an hour straight or something ridiculous.”

“What are you gonna do process wise that’s going to differentiate your shit from somebody else?”

The massive success of “3 Kings” proves that sometimes less is more. Using an ASR-10, a karaoke machine, and a simple keyboard, Jake One wove six different sounds into one timeless record. Looking back on the experience, he still can’t help but marvel at the simplicity of the track’s structure. “Six sounds,” he said. “It’s not anything too spectacular. But the right six sounds…that’s kind of my thing.”

And best of all, Jake’s creative use of the karaoke machine helped insure that no other producer could replicate his special sauce. “It’s definitely been a cool trick because when that song came out, people were trying to remake the beat and they couldn’t because it doesn’t sound like that on the record,” he says. “And I love that kind of shit. That’s my favorite kind of thing to do.”