Text by Sydney Jackson
On June 8, Marian Hill and Yung Baby Tate teamed up to provide a sultry new track titled “oOo that’s my type”. The track explores frontwoman Samantha Gongol and rapper Yung Baby Tate as they go searching for their next potential match. Sexy and oozing with confidence, these two women’s opposing styles and aesthetics meshed perfectly to create a track that is deemed club-worthy.
I had the pleasure of speaking with both Jeremy and Samantha from Marian Hill about the creation of “oOo that’s my type”, their creative process, and their upcoming tour.
What was the creative process behind the track and music video like?
Samantha: Jeremy and I wrote “oOo that’s my type” in 2019, and we made the music video in 2021. Literally lifetimes later (laughing). It was great to reconnect with our creative director Bel Downie and director Mitch Dequilettes — who both worked on the “Was It Not” video — to hash out our latest vision amidst the chaos. Jeremy was, unfortunately, unable to attend the video shoot in person, but he was there via cardboard! This song is one of my personal favorites on the album and I love getting to lead with it.
Jeremy: Writing the song was such an easy and fun process. The beat was super simple and the melodies came right away. Sometimes songs take days, others take an hour, and this was the latter. We also stumbled into such a cool harmonic vibe. The bassline is chromatic and has a very minor feel, but the melody and vocal harmonies are super major. I love a good contrast like that; bright and dark at the same time.
How did the two of you know that Yung Baby Tate (YBT) would be the right fit for this feature?
Jeremy: I’ve been following Tate for a while now, and I love how multi-talented she is; writing, rapping, singing, producing, everything. Collaborating with hip-hop artists is something I’ve always wanted to do and I’m so pleased with how well YBT fits on this song. Samantha: YBT made the record. We wanted more ‘badass give no f**ks’ energy on this record, and we knew she’d be perfect. There was never any doubt, but when we heard it, we were like “Yes. This is it.” I noticed that you have a tour coming up. How does it feel to be able to perform in front of an audience after this unpredictable season?
Samantha: It’s a super tiny tour but words cannot describe how excited I am! Tour is one of my favorite things, and the lack thereof left me desolate. Now that I say that out loud it feels like an unsustainable attitude, but I’ll address it post-September. Jeremy: It feels completely surreal. I can’t wait to hear what my production sounds like on massive venue speakers again.
Over the span of your career, how do the both of you feel that you have grown the most as artists?
Samantha: I would say that I’m more in command of my voice. Literally and figuratively. I was getting into such a nice performance groove when we stopped playing in 2019, so I’m a little nervous about all of this time off. I’m going to need to practice holding a microphone. I’ll have to start taking one everywhere I go just to get reacquainted.
Jeremy: I’ve learned to pick my battles, and temper how involved I let my emotions get in artistic decisions. Early on I lived and died with everything, from which songs made the album, to the artwork, to the videos, to the promo campaigns. I’d be texting our manager constantly like: “Are we doing enough? What ads are we running? How are the streaming numbers?” The pandemic helped me put all of that in perspective, and realize that it’s not healthy to be so emotionally invested in things I have so little control over. Now for me it’s about making the best music I possibly can and then surrounding myself with a team I believe in to handle the rest.
If you were to leave a legacy behind, how would you like to be remembered?
Samantha: Ugh this question. I’ve been so existential this past year, I’m trying to live more in the moment. I simply can’t think about legacies; it makes me anxious! Jeremy will have a good answer though.
Jeremy: I see music as a conversation. Every artist is in dialogue with the artists that influenced them and it’s a big tree of influence, stretching out to every genre. When we were getting started I just wanted to be a part of that conversation, to influence artists, and for people who know music to know what Marian Hill is, and I think we’ve done that. One of the things I take the most pride in is knowing that Finneas and Billie Eilish were listening to our music a lot when they were just getting started. Finneas has become a friend now, and knowing that a star as big as Billie took even a grain of influence from our music means everything to me.
You can check out “oOo that’s my type” below.