“My Name Is,” opens with an iconic loop, taking the playful Wurlitzer keyboard from Labi Siffre’s “I Got The,” and its bass and guitar riff from Chas & Dave. Before “My Name Is,” hit the airwaves however, the sample was originally set for a Dust Brothers-produced track intended for Beck, who revealed this history in an interview on Matt Wilkinson’s Apple Radio show.
Beck recalled meeting Iovine in 1999 to show him his plans for the then upcoming studio album Midnight Vultures, which was going to be released that November. Iovine told him that they had just signed Eminem and showed him the video for “My Name Is,” which debuted on MTV in January.
“He (Iovine) said, ‘Before we do anything, I just signed this kid. It’s going to be massive. It’s going to change everything. We just got the video. They just sent it to us today. Sit down and watch this'” Beck explained. “Me and my manager sat down and we’re looking at each other like, ‘Ah.’ So he puts on the record and the video comes on and it’s like, ‘Hi, my name is.’ And it’s this blonde kid rapping. And the song is funny.”
Beck then realized that the song was the exact same sample intended for a single he was about to record, however the success of “My Name Is,” as well as the break-up of the Dust Brothers led the artist to a different musical direction for Sea Change.
The last year was a busy one for Beck, who teamed up with NASA to create an AI-assisted visual-album set to Hyperspace, the artist’s 2019 studio album. Eminem recently released music video for “Higher,” which premiered during the ESPN Countdown preceding the UFC fight between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier.
Photo Credit: Brett Padelford.
Leave a Comment