00:00What's up, y'all? It's Eve here, and this is my Billboard Charts History.
00:18Yeah, it was a lot of preparation for that video. I remember the video a lot more than the actual
00:24song. It's so funny. One thing that was important for me when writing the song, I had to start the
00:31song off with Rubia, hanging out in New York. I was always in Harlem. I was always in the Bronx,
00:37and I had my short blonde hair then, so guys will always be like, Rubia, Rubia, Rubia.
00:43And I used to be like, what? They all thought I was Dominican for the longest time. I was like,
00:47oh, that means blondie. That's blondie. So I was like, I have to start the song off that way,
00:52because it's like, you know, a Latin track. I had to take salsa lessons as well for the video,
00:57and the man was very mean. He was so mean. It was my entry, but also like my first experience
01:03with doing a video and how big it all is and the pressure behind it, but it was great.
01:09Darren Dean was always the one that kind of was like, could see in the future. He was like,
01:14this is, I'm telling you, I'm telling you, this is the one that's got to be the first single.
01:17So I didn't really understand it in that way. I kind of was just like, damn, this is a great record.
01:22But they knew 100%. He knew. Him and Wilde, they knew. They was like, this is the one.
01:28This is a great entry for you. It's different than any other female that's out. So they knew it.
01:32Yeah.
01:33That record. I mean, I love that record. And we kind of took over the hit factory like Rough Riders.
01:51We were having like writing sessions and there were tons of producers and Teflon actually was
01:56one of the up and coming producers of Rough Riders. And he kept like bringing us beats and it kind of
02:02was like, no, that's not it. No, that's not it. But he was like, I'm going to get you a single.
02:06And he came with this and we was like, that's it. This is the single. And we knew this one was one
02:11that I feel like actually we, we all kind of like, this is out of here. This is a great single.
02:16People are going to love this. That song takes me right back to my end. You know, I'm on tour now
02:20and it's the song I opened the show with. I used to do it at the end. Then we decided to put it at the
02:26beginning because I was like, it's the perfect opener. Everybody knows it. It's a big record for me.
02:31Like it's a fun record. It just, it sets the tone and it's a celebratory record.
02:35It's a very, like to me now, it's a very celebratory record. I love it.
02:40Yeah.
02:52Ah, I remember Swiss and Meshonda actually played this track for me and I loved it immediately.
03:02And I knew exactly, as soon as I heard it, I was like, I know exactly what I want to write about.
03:06And the little girl in the beginning is the daughter of my then A&R ice pick who is no longer
03:19with us. And he rests. And she was obviously a baby then. So yeah, I really do remember that.
03:25I remember being in the studio and writing it. And as soon as I heard it, I loved it. Like,
03:30as soon as I heard it, I was like, yeah, this is great. This is great. But again,
03:34it's one of those tracks that, did we know it was going to do anything? I didn't. I kind of was
03:39just like, this is a dope record. You know? Yeah.
03:41That is probably my favorite record. It's my favorite record to perform for sure. And I
03:59remember that whole thing. You know, obviously Dre did the beat. Scott Storch on Keys, who I've
04:05known Scott Storch since I was 14 in Philly. And then of course, Gwen Stefani. She was the only
04:11person that I wanted on this record. I did not want anyone else. I felt like it had to be her
04:16because I could hear her voice on it. I mean, it's a great record, guys. Sorry. I mean, someone
04:23can see it, but it really is. It just has all the right elements from top to bottom. And that has a
04:30lot to do with the way that Dre produces. I mean, it's why Dre is Dre. Because as I was writing,
04:37it's not so much that he jumps in to say, write this or that. It's how you say certain things,
04:43how you deliver certain things. And that actually, it makes a difference. So yeah. I was a huge fan
04:49of No Doubt and of Gwen. We were label mates. And I was like, yo, why not? Let's try it. If it sucks,
04:55nobody ever has to hear it. But I knew it wouldn't. People tried to bite me on it. And she was super
05:01down. And I remember we didn't do the song in the studio together. We didn't meet until the video
05:06on set. But we talked on the phone. And I said to Gwen, I was like, yo, you know, you can change
05:12the lyrics. I know she likes to write. And she was like, no, I think it's perfect. She's like, I don't
05:15want to touch them. And I was like, oh, that's really nice. I was like, that's dope. Yeah. She was
05:22like, no, I'm not going to touch the, I'm not going to touch it. I love what you wrote.
05:25I'm just going to sing it. And then it's perfect.
05:40I love that record still. It is just like the beat, the everything, the energy, everything.
05:45I was so honored to be asked to be on that remix. Like I was, this was my first, you know,
05:55I was new, new. I was baby new in the industry. So to be asked to be on a record with Nas,
06:02Missy Elliott. Oh my God. And it was a Hype Williams video. Like this was like, oh, I've
06:08made, I've, I've arrived. I think I wrote that verse in like 2.5 seconds. Cause I was so
06:14excited. Like I was like, it's gotta be, I mean, the hottest verse ever. Um, I wrote that verse
06:19very quickly. Yeah. And again, just honored. Like, you know, I was like, wow, you know,
06:24people like that I've listened to that to me are heroes of mine before coming in the industry,
06:30asking me to be on a record like this is amazing. When I think back on certain moments,
06:35I think things were happening so fast that even if you heard it, it kind of was like, you still,
06:41all right, onto the next, like, yo, this song made it. You get a, you get a minute to kind
06:45of be like, oh yes. And then you onto the next one, right in the next record into the
06:49next studio session or whatever. But I do remember the impact of it because it was a
06:55verse that helped my career. It was a verse that definitely made people in the industry
06:59pay attention to me a bit more. Yeah. It probably was one of the manager to manager
07:03things, but I do feel like I did speak to Missy because we all used to be in the same
07:07studios all the time. And then it was an immediate yes. What? Yeah, of course.
07:25Swiss, my brother, of course, bringing all the energy as he does always. Immediately,
07:31when he played me that record, I was like, this is crazy. I have to be on this record.
07:35But it's funny because I remember after we wrote the record, there were people at
07:39the label that weren't really into it. They were, people were saying it's not urban
07:43enough that it was too top 40. And weirdly, it was a slow burn, this record. This was a
07:48slow burn. And funnily enough, Urban Radio picked it up more than I think top 40 did
07:54or whenever it happened. But yeah, there were people that were really not happy about
07:57this record, which I was so confused about. I was like, it's a good record. What are you doing?
08:01And now it's like, people love this record, man. It's just fucking blue.
08:05That's such a good record. Again, me and Gwen, we just do good shit together, guys. And it
08:24was one of those things where it was exactly like that. Like, okay, she's doing a record,
08:29you got to get on my record, you know. And we wrote, we actually wrote in the studio together
08:32for this one, which was really nice to see. This was the first time I'd gone in the studio
08:37with a woman, especially in a different genre, to watch a different writing style, which was
08:42kind of cool. She actually introduced me to the rhyming dictionary. Did not know that
08:46that existed. So yeah, we had a good time writing that record together. With Blow Your Mind,
08:52it, obviously having Gwen on the record is what crossed me over in a way.
08:57It peaked at number seven 20 years ago. So it sounds like you guys better run it back.
09:02Yeah. I mean, you know, I never say never. We make good music.
09:07Yeah.
09:08I mean, Mary J. Blige, come on. I mean, again, Dre. Oh, I love that fucking record. I love
09:28that record. Also, when I wrote that verse, I kind of was in a situation where I was getting
09:35rid of a piece of shit, dude. All those words I say are, they're coming straight from the gut.
09:49I love writing that too, because it was like, you know, when I write, it's therapeutic. It
09:54is my diary. It is my, like, so yeah. I'm being on a song with Mary. Come on. Like,
10:01she's the queen. I think that was kind of one of those label things as well. She had done the
10:06record with Dre, and I think he had suggested a Jimmy Iovine or someone, or she asked for me.
10:11It was one of those kinds of things, but happy that whoever made it happen, made it happen.
10:24Kelly Rowland. God. I've been really lucky, man. I've been really lucky in my career,
10:35being able to, the songs, the collaborations that I've done with some incredible artists.
10:41Kelly's amazing. And this track was just one of them shit talking. We hear, like, ladies,
10:48what's up? Like, liberation records. Like, you know, it's just one of them, like, yeah,
10:53we don't need men. We're just here doing it for ourselves. Pay attention. Yeah, it's a great record.
11:09I love that record. Again, Dre. And I'm laughing because I got so mad at Dre with this record.
11:18He made me say, and I've said this a long time ago, the word block. He made me say it 16 times
11:26because he needed to hear it a certain way, and I couldn't hear it. And then when I did it,
11:31like he said it, it changed. It changed, like, the cadence, my cadence, and it made it different.
11:37And I was like, oh, okay. But I had fun writing this record. I loved writing this record. This is,
11:43to me, this is my Philly record. It's a very Philly record. Dre kind of, when we did work
11:49together, he would come in, kind of play the beat and just lead me to my own devices and come in and
11:56out. So it was just me really in there bopping. And then when we went in to record it is when he
12:04kind of, that's where he comes in. Like I did a lot of, a lot of ad libs, but real different
12:10than I've ever done them before. Almost like harmonies in certain places. So the recording
12:15was, was grueling.
12:30I love this record. The other women that were out just weren't, it was a different sound. I actually
12:36was shocked that Rough Riders was into this record. When I wrote this record, they was like, oh yeah,
12:42this could be a single because of the subject matter, because of domestic violence, but also
12:48because it was slow. But then again, you know, their forethought thought, Darren, of course, was
12:55like, we need to get Faith Evans on this record. And then it's official, which I also, again, was
13:00shocked that like, yo, Faith is going to be on this record. Like, you know, cause I, again, I was still
13:05young, but I'm so happy that this song came out. This was an important song for me. And I
13:12think it also kind of solidified what kind of artists I was going to be kind of, you know,
13:18storytelling and things like that. And the first two verses were a poem, was a poem because it was,
13:23it's a real story about a friend of mine that I used to hang out with that used to get beat by this
13:29guy. And when I heard that beat, those lyrics immediately, like those words immediately went to
13:33that beat. Yeah.
13:47Love it. Love it. And Alicia's voice is so perfect. So like, just, I mean, it's Alicia. And then again,
13:55this was one of those records that after, once we were doing it, she was the only person as well.
13:59Like this was a collaboration. It was Murder, Inc. and Rough Riders. We were all in the studio
14:04together and they played this beat and we were like, it has to be Alicia period. That's it. And
14:09she sounds perfect. That's perfect. I love this record. It's funny. Cause now I'm, I'm again,
14:16I'm on tour and I'm like doing the choreography in my head. And it's now one of my favorite records
14:20to perform. And before I would do like just a short part of it, just cause of the tempo.
14:25And now it's like one of my favorite records to perform.
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