7 Rap Songs That Let Flute Take the Melody

Creating top hits tests a producer's ingenuity for new sounds — these seven songs demonstrate producers use of flute recordings to make the crowd move.

Written by Glenn Rodgers

Photo courtesy of VEVO

Synthesizers and samplers have brought unorthodox instruments into hip-hop. Much like Tyler, the Creator’s use of synthesizers stringed instrument settings, other producers have brought a different classical instrument into beats — the flute. These seven songs are a testament to hip-hop’s resourcefulness and the power of the flute. Its ability to be both playful and dark demonstrate the instrument's diversity in melody.

“Mask Off” - Future

Future’s “Mask Off” is one of the most recognizable flute-type beats and is Future’s highest charting single to date. Its 2017 release spearheaded the flute revival and is based around a sample from Tommy Butler’s 1976 “Prison Song” from The "Selma" Album: A Musical Tribute To Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The flute is a perfectly haunting addition to the song’s heavier subjects of Future’s drug dependencies and a music video that resembles a scene from “The Purge.”

“Praise The Lord (Da Shine)” - A$AP Rocky feat. Skepta

“Praise The Lord” by A$AP Rocky features a panpipe sample from a GarageBand jam pack. The song, produced by Skepta, was made while he and Rocky were “tripping balls.” Its high-pitched flute melody is present throughout the entire song, and lacks complex flows or vocal changes, giving the song a sense of simplicity. While the song isn’t in our faces like most flute-style songs, its lo-fi style doesn’t leave us asking for more. 

“Lollipop” - Snoop Dogg feat. Jay-Z

“Lollipop”’s flute comes from Don Julian’s song “Where I’m Coming From.” Unlike most flute-style beats that focus on the repetition of a single sample, the beat in the song is built around the flute from the differing melodies of “Where I’m Coming From” and features little repetition of the flute itself. The beat is a great example of the flute as a solo instrument and not just a part of a whole.

“Bop” - Dababy

“Bop,” one of the stand-out tracks from Dababy’s recent album Kirk, features a flute that sits below the song’s heavy drums and Dababy’s deep voice. The flute is given a chance to shine during the brief bridge at the end of the song, where the drums drop out and Dababy’s voice modulation blends with the flute.

“Portland” - Drake feat. Quavo & Travis Scott

“Portland”’s beat places the atmospheric features of a simple flute melody over a complex drum progression. The beat comes from a previous Murda Beatz produced song, “AKA.” Murda’s new rendition of that beat for “Portland” has a quieter and cymbal-based drum pattern, allowing the flute’s simplicity to shine. Its simple repetition is haunting to those trying to ride Drake’s wave. The song is a great example of a simple beat that still allows Drake to make the iPhone 5 seem officially uncool.

“Hoes” - Lil Wayne

The opening of “Hoes” find’s Lil Wayne asking his audience if he can talk about the song’s title. He then proceeds to do so over a beat provided by a flute. Its staccato pattern plays outside the beat of the bass to create a dense and technically-intricate tune. The flute’s lightness helps to provide a playfulness to an otherwise serious beat.

“Flute Loop” - Beastie Boys

The name alone gives this song a right to be on this list. The grandfather to most flute beats finds the Beastie Boys rapping over a sped-up version of The Blues Project’s “Flute Thing.” On this track the Beastie Boys let the flute take the lead. Their flow is simple and doesn’t find itself off the thumbing of the beat, whereas the flute’s melody exists in the inbetween spaces. Its airiness is a testament to the Beastie Boys’ playfulness, and the song sounds like the sonic sibling of the flute featured on the group’s “Sure Shot.” 

Honorable Mentions - Lizzo and Andre 3000

While Lizzo’s flute use doesn’t necessarily fall into hip-hop oriented music, there’s no doubt that they’re both pushing flute propaganda. From her second Instagram @sashabefluting on which she posts videos of herself playing the flute to her integration of the instrument in her music, we can tell Lizzo has been a flute fan for a long time — in an interview with CBS, she said she was first chair flute in high school. Her flute skills have gone on to become instant viral content, most notably her video where she plays the flute with Megan Thee Stallion. 

While Lizzo is a classical trained flautist, Andre 3000 has only just recently revealed his affinity for the instrument. Andre 3000 has been caught casually playing the flute through the streets of Philadelphia, New York City, and Los Angeles. While these “fluting” examples may not specifically be over beats, it would be disrespectful not to include them.

Hip-hop’s use of an unconventional instrument demonstrates its lack of constraints and its ability to think outside the box. A producer’s ability to turn an instrument associated with high school band or stuffy classical orchestra into something cool demonstrates their own creative ability and respect for the instrument. Through samples and synthesizers, producers have molded hip-hop into a genre with a hodge-podge of instruments.