I'm God

"I'm God" is an instrumental song by the American producer Michael Volpe, known professionally as Clams Casino, and the British singer Imogen Heap.

Following years of unsuccessful attempts to clear the sample usage, it was officially released on streaming on April 24, 2020, appearing on Volpe's Instrumental Relics compilation.

It received a cult following on the Internet, being unofficially reuploaded by fans to social media, including in the form of a music video that incorporates clips from the French film Perdues dans New York (1989).

He started publishing music seriously in late 2007; at the time, Volpe was using the social network MySpace to contact artists and rappers, sending free instrumentals to them.

[3][4][5] Lil B then recorded vocals over it,[3] and the final result appeared on his debut solo studio album, 6 Kiss, which was released on December 22, 2009.

[8] Originally, Volpe did not consider the need to get official permission to use the "Just for Now" sample; he was not focused on earning money from his work, but simply on sharing free tracks on social media for enjoyment.

[4] On April 24, 2020, the song was officially released on streaming as part of Volpe's Instrumental Relics mixtape following his acquisition of the rights to sample "Just for Now", with Heap receiving credit alongside him.

[16] In the context of Lil B's version, Randall Roberts of Los Angeles Times felt that Volpe made "I'm God" "sound as freaky as the rapper is chaotic".

[9] Vice's Dhruva Balram described the instrumental as "psychedelic",[3] while Smith thought that the drum programming resembled boom bap more than trap.

[3] Schube of Complex described it as "a brilliant and stunning landmark" of the genre,[4] while Kyle Garb, writing for the same magazine, considered it a key track from the witch house era.

[20] In 2013, Complex's Craig Jenkins called it one of the "25 best rap beats of the last 5 years" and said that it stands out as the opening track of Volpe's discography, which was by then full of "majestic, oceanic production work".

[1][3] Cunningham called it one of the most expansive hits from hip-hop's blogosphere era, which captured the interest of every Internet user with a craving for new sounds when it was unofficially released in 2011.

A woman holding a MIDI keyboard
Clams Casino sampled "Just for Now", a song by Imogen Heap ( pictured in 2010 ).