You’ve heard it in countless trap songs, you’ve seen the hilarious memes – “damn son where did you find this” is arguably one of the most iconic and cliché mixtape drops in the trap music industry.
The sample was widely used by legendary artists including OJ da Juiceman and Gucci Mane in their popular Trap-a-holics mixtapes back in the late 2000s.
The drop was also sampled by the award-winning artists XXXTENTANCION in his 2016 track, Look at Me!More recently, the “damn son where’d you find this” sound resurfaced courtesy of 5-time Grammy Award winner, Childish Gambino (aka. Donald Glover).
An Overview of Trap Music – Mixtapes and Drops
Part of why the “damn son where’d you find this” song caught on has to do with the momentum of trap music during the time of its emergence.
If you’ve been living under a rock for the past couple of years and you’re not aware of trap music, the genre is characterized by a hard attitude sound that’s felt in the snappy snares, loud kicks, triplet hi-hats, brass, and 808 samples used during composition.
Trap music originated from the south in the late 1990s – and has since garnered considerable momentum.
It was during the late 2000s when trap music had a strong presence in mainstream media (including Billboard music charts) that the “damn son where’d you find this” drop was born.
It rode on the viral popularity of trap music at the time, effectively earning a place as one of the most cliché mixtape drops in trap music’s history – along with “Real trap shit” and “This Is a Certified Hood Classic.”
As ‘catchy’ as the mixtape drop was – and still is – few people really know its origin. Read on as we dig around to uncover the history behind one of our favorite drops.
Shadoe Haze the Voice Behind “Damn Son Where’d You Find This” Song?
That husky voice that keeps ringing in your head as you read “damn son where did you find this” is the talented work of voice artist, Shadoe Haze.
As a jack of all trades in the entertainment industry, Shadoe Haze is also a drum and bass DJ based in Northeast Louisiana.
In an interview with DJ Aptone and DJ Ayres back in 2013, the then 42-year-old artist claimed to find accomplishment and satisfaction in his mobile DJ service.
According to Shadoe, nothing beats the feeling of stirring a smile on someone’s face or charming a tear down the cheek of a euphoric reveler.
Oddly enough, Shadoe Haze was not much of a trap guy – despite the “damn son where’d you find this” drop dominating trap music mixtapes around the globe.
Due to his clientele, Shadoe mainly focused on breaks, drums, and bass during his free time. Regardless, he held the music genre in high esteem – claiming that there were some good and bad eggs in trap music, just like in any other genre. (PS: You can find some of his DJing work at https://soundcloud.com/shadoehaze)
While his DJing track record is respectable, Shadoe’s greatest imprint in the entertainment industry has to do with his voice-over work.
Since 1989, he has been reading scripts and entertaining listeners with voice imaging, radio shows, and hilarious comedy bits.
In fact, he believes that DJs are the funniest people – more so than comedians. His list of clients includes the likes of DJ Rectangle (a renowned DJ associated with artists such as Snoop Dogg and R. Kelly), Adult Swim – Cartoon Network, Ontime, Yellow Claw, and Kidd Star.
In his interview with DJ Aptone, Shadoe even joked about doing voice imaging work for Justin Timberlake and Paris Hilton.
You’re probably wondering, where did the “damn son where did you find this” drop come from?
Did Shadoe Haze come up with the iconic words?
Surprisingly, Shadoe Haze was not aware that his voice had been sampled in tracks and mixtapes everywhere.
He only got the news from his friend who was also a dubstep producer.
The initial “damn son where’d you find this” drop had been cut and ad-libbed from some of his previous work.
Probably in an attempt to set the record clear, Shadoe posted a YouTube video in 2013 in which he gave viewers a live sample of the drop, rightfully taking credit for his work.
Aside from his voice-over work, radio, and DJing, Shadoe Haze also owns a Taekwondo school.
Quoting him on his official Shadoe Haze Productions website, “I teach Taekwondo because I love to watch people grow and know I had something to do with that. I do radio because I love being a part of people’s lives. If people try to keep you from enjoying life… Tell ’em ‘Thanks for Playing’ and bug out.”
The Internet Gives Birth to the “Damn Son” Meme
Even if you’re not a fan of the trap music, or you’re a Gen Zer and the “damn son where’d you find this” wave was before your time, you’ve likely come across the “damn son” meme at one point.
The catchphrase is arguably an Internet meme classic that is widely popular in parody videos. Both the meme and the mixtape drop seem to be timeless – popping up again every few years.
