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Devonte Hynesmoves like an old-world cartographer.
Blink, and you find him clear across the planet from where you last heard from him.
His signatures are tender, gossamer vocals and hooks that sway like heat haze under a blazing sun.
2013sCupid Deluxepaired Dirty Projector Dave Longstreth and Lil B and A$AP Mob collaborator Clams Casino.
2016sFreetown Soundwas a rush of jazz, soul, rock, and New Wave sounds dusted in political ire.
Dev works at the same pace that he travels.
Pulse zips through half a dozen genres and almost twice as many guests in little over half an hour.
Take It Back exemplifies the effortless slipperiness of both Blood Orange andAngels Pulse.
And Ive been trying to spin that realization to a positive.
First of all, no one ever thinks about what you do as much as you think about it.
I think Ive always known it, which is why Ive been able to finish records.
Im 33 now, and I make so much music, and honestly none of it really matters.
I dont know what I think I was holding out for.
Ooh.I think I held on to that logic for some reason.
Its just not true.
Youll never ever get back close to the energy that you give out.
The internet shook me out of this.
You put out a certain energy, and it cuts weird ways.
It comes back to you in ways you didnt intend or expect.
But you cant tell which itll be beforehand.You never know.
I was hanging on by a thread before, but now I truly dont care about any of it.
Youre catching a case of the 30s.Yeah.
Thats the gist of it.
In my ideal world, I just put it out, and people can do whatever.
Youd rather not have to label it?Thats my dream.
Its just the next group of songs.
Theres freedom in the latter because there arent as many expectations of formality.Exactly.
And I think thats why I gravitated towardmixtape.
I just want people, if they hear it, to enjoy it.
I dont want them to have to think about anything else.
But one key difference is that I wasnt really ever alone when I was makingNegro Swan.
With this one, it was a lot of isolation and then bringing people in.
Things were finished a lot quicker than I usually finish them.
There was a house in L.A. that I rented, and people would come by.
Some of it was in Helsinki.
Some of it was in Dubai.
Everything was mixed and finished in New York at Electric Lady.
It was really, really scattered.
How did you end up in Dubai?Take It Back was finished there.
She was in London.
Joba and I had been talking for so long about doing stuff.
Hes someone who kind of has a big influence over the record.
Take It Back was one of those loops.
I guess a big thing with this record is that …
I kind of leaned on him quite a bit, emotionally.
Him doing his verse on Take It Back was one of the last things that actually happened.
Theres this very specific late-90s, early 2000s production vibe captured.
You nailed the sound of a classic hip-hop-soul record so closely that it feels deliberate.
I wonder if youre purposefully pairing sounds from eras that people dont expect to hear together.
I went through many track ones before eventually falling back on that one.
Youre kind of correct.
Its much more instant.
Its more Im an excited kid in the moment.
Im like,Oh shit, itd be cool if this had this vibe.
Like Hope onNegro Swan.
Val Tei Shi was in my studio and started doing the hook on that song.
Very much in the moment.
Sounds trigger thoughts from my childhood and from my music fandom.
That widens it and takes it places I couldnt.
Voices are the most signifying instruments.
So, the intent is in the tailoring.
You might use different fabrics, but its the same hand doing the stitching?Right.
Every time people hear it, theyre always like, Who is that?
Chaz Bear, man.
Fuckin Toro coming through with bars.
Youre doing more rapping, too.Thats true.
A bar or two.
Caught that Three 6 Mafia spirit working with Gangsta Boo and Project Pat?Its actually true.
They need to stop co-signing me.
How did you become involved with Mariah Carey on Giving Me Life?
I thoughtCautionwas one of her better albums.I think so, too, personally, as a Mariah stan.
Or as a member of theLambily.
So someone reached out from her team asking if I was around in L.A. to work.
Through the years, thered be messages like that about certain stuff that never panned out.
Its not Fuck no because I dont care about the new artist.
I just like honesty and vibes.
You dont need to trick me, you know?
There arent a bunch of sessions that have never come out.
I just want everyone to feel so good while making stuff.
Anyway, Mariahs people hit me up, and it was a crazy thing.
We just listened to music.
Her music knowledge is out of control.
Its another planet of music knowledge.
I think a lot of people believe she just gets the material and sings it.No, no, no.
Everything is written in the room.
It was me at a piano and her sitting next to me.
We wrote that song.
Even the snare sound was her telling me what snare sound she wants.
She knows every word toComing to America.
She literally spoke the samples to me, and when I went and found it, it was verbatim.
She said he was her favorite rapper when she was growing up in New York.
So when Slick Rick eventually appeared on it, I was like,Oh shit, that was real.
What have you been listening to lately?
I saw you at the Vampire WeekendFather of the Briderelease show.
That album took control of my life for a while.
Theres a song called Dawn Chorus that sounds like someone falling asleep at the keyboard.
Its the most unusual idea.
Its one of his better solo albums.Thats tight.A Moon Shaped Poolmight be one of my favorite Radiohead albums.
It was a left turn for them that worked really well.There are songs on that album that destroy me.
I was listening to that quite recently.
Oasis has a weird rep because its huge 90s music, but those songs are sturdy.
If I hear one out anywhere, its immediately a party.
It was as territorial as that.
Bloody shit, they were right.
I cant believe it.
Which album?Well, Ive been listening toThe Colour of Springbecause I realized Ive never heard it.
That was an incredible loss.Mark Hollis made amazing music.
I bought the solo album recently.
Its staring at me on my desk.So influential.
I had a song onFreetown Soundcalled I Know that was hugely influenced by Talk Talk.
I wouldnt have guessed!Thats usually the case with my stuff.
Its hard to pin what the main musical influences are.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
