Talk about getting to the "heart" of making a dope hip-hop track.
Von Miller is a star in the NFL, helping the Denver Broncos to a surprising 2-0 start to their season. However, success on the field isn't the only thing that Miller has contributed to over the last little while - in fact, his heart has been an integral part in a hit song for rapper YG. We're saying this in very literal terms as well. According to a new report from TMZ, superstar hip-hop producer Mike Will Made-It took a sample of Miller's actual heartbeat and used it as part of the instrumental sound on the track "Heart of a Lion."
"Shout out to YG, shout out to von Miller, shout out to Adidas," said Will Made-It, giving props to the other parties who played a key role in making the record. "[Adidas] wanted to see if I could make a beat around [Von Miller's heartbeat], or a song around it, I told them, 'I can make a song out of anything'," he recalled. "Me and YG put together that song, 'Heart of a Lion," and it's going crazy." If you listen to the track, you can clearly hear the "thump-thump" sound of Miller's contribution come in before the beat really starts to kick. It continues in time with the rest of the instrumental throughout the track, giving the proceedings the kind of human quality that cannot be produced by computers or any other machines. It's not like the technique has never been used before, but Mike, YG, Miller and Adidas have come together to craft something very unique in terms of its sound.
Mike Will-Made It has previously said that his love for the sports brand is what led him to be so inspired with this material. “I’ve always been a fan of Adidas and how they create, and they’ve been a fan of my work, so we came together [to] create something,” he said. Crafting something new and original has always been Mike's MO, and for all involved, it's a collaboration that has definitely got people talking.