The road from minion in a songwriting camp to bonafide artist is a rocky one. There are your Kanye Wests and your Ne-Yos – the former having produced for JAY-Z before finally getting that Roc-A-Fella chain and the latter writing the silky smooth R&B jam "Let Me Love You" for Mario; then there are your, let's say, shelved artists – those who can write a tune but don't have enough star power to ultimately create a steadily streaming flow of cash into the record company they've signed to.It's not known what and who Bekon is going to be yet, so let's just say this – his debut track "Cold As Ice" is a tune. That's one fact. The other is he helped produce eight songs on Kendrick Lamar's DAMN., helping to create a sound that is directly connected with Bekon's debut single (which Zane Lowe picked out as his World Record on Tuesday).Watch the video above, ignore the impossibly terrible concept (James Bond?! Femme Fatale references? Bleeeeeurgh) then ponder one last thing. This pitch-shifted sound we've heard rise to prominence in the past few years – not just on DAMN. but also on Frank Ocean's Blonde and King Krule's The OOZ…. where has it come from? Is Connan Mockasin the originator? Right now I feel to turn to The People Who Run Our CMS and ask them to bring the comments section back just this once to find out. In either case – listen to Bekon's "Cold As Ice" above and feel the heat.You can find Ryan on Twitter.
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