Nicki Minaj's The Pinkprint has finally arrived, and one of the most talked about tracks on the effort is the Beyoncé-featuring "Feeling Myself." Following the success of the "Flawless" remix, the song sees the two powerhouse women once more on top of their game. From the hooks to the verses, the song delivers. But the backbone of it all is the production and song structure, which come courtesy of Hit-Boy. In a new interview with Revolt, the producer — who is also behind hits like "N***as in Paris," "Clique," and "Backseat Freestyle" — takes fans through the song's evolution.
He takes us into the studio to reconstruct the beat from scratch, showing which sounds he used, how he layered them, and what Minaj was looking for. He also credits TDE's SZA for writing part of it. Watch it here:
Minaj recently spoke about what it was like to work with Queen Bey in an interview with DJ Whoo Kid.
"I think people were hungry for a Beyoncé-Nicki Minaj movement for a long time," she said about their first collaboration. "I think for a long time I thought I was too risqué for her image. I think she felt like that, too.
"When I met her when I was doing 'Flawless' in New York, she was like 'I freed myself on my last album.' That inspired me so much because that's what I was trying to do with The Pinkprint.
"When she said that, I was still in the middle of writing The Pinkprint, but I just understood her so much as a woman. Forget being an artist or a rap artist, just as a woman, the beauty of freeing yourself and the peace that comes with that, people have no idea because you live in a world where you're so scrutinized, especially when you're a famous woman, and there's nothing harder than freeing yourself and letting your guard down and saying, 'This is me, take it or leave it.' If you can do that, and overcome it, and win with it, it's a blessing.
"So it was really inspiring when she said that, and now I see the other side of her, which is this really funny girl. I just think she's such a multifaceted woman, and she really uplifts me. Any sort of conversation I have with her, I always feel like she's listening and she's also teaching at the same time."
What do you think of "Feeling Myself?" Let us know in the comment section below!
