On Saturday, the music industry was shocked by the news of the death of producer Sophie. The Scotland native died after a tragic fall during a climb to watch the full moon in Athens, Greece. Her death impacted many in the industry, and names like Sam Smith, Rina Sawayama, Charlie XCX, Christine And The Queens, and more mourned her on social media. Now Vince Staples has spoken with Rolling Stone about someone he’d become good friends with over the years.
The rapper revealed he met Sophie back in 2016 when they were both opening acts on Flume’s Australia tour. “I remember once we were at the pool. She was on her computer, I was doing whatever I was doing. I was like, ‘I’ll see you later, Sophie!’” he said. “She looked at me like I was crazy, like, ‘How the f*ck do you know who I am?’” He also praised the way her demanded listeners’ attention. “One thing about Sophie’s music, it demanded attention … Her music demanded attention. While 30,000 people were waiting for one guy to go on, her music demanded attention.”
Sophie would eventually produce two songs for Vince, “Yeah Right” and “Samo,” both from his 2017 album Big Fish Theory. He shared his initial struggles with the beat for the former track. “I tried something, but she said that it wasn’t the attention-grabbing thing that she goes for. So I reapproached it,” he recalled. “Sophie was like, ‘Don’t tell stories. I don’t care what you’re talking about. The attention is what’s important.’ That’s how she worked. At that time in my career, I was at the point where you’re reassessing how you feel about yourself, what your purpose is, what your sonics are. Sophie had something that we were looking for.”
While this attention-grabbing attribute to Sophie’s music definitely caught the eye of Vince, it wasn’t the thing he’ll remember her for. Rather, it was the Scotland native’s fearlessness that impacted him the most.
“I’ve seen Sophie around a dozen sessions, around different kinds of people, different genres, different races, different backgrounds, and she was never afraid. I never saw her once afraid to be who she was, to wear what she wanted, to say what she wanted, to play what she wanted. Not once. I think that’s the most important takeaway: You don’t have to be afraid. Producers, musicians, trans people, people all over, no matter who you are, to be honest — I don’t care who you are, that’s something you could take something from. You don’t have to be fearful. I haven’t once seen fear on Sophie’s face, no matter what
(via Rolling Stone)