Quavo had actually sent two songs.
I opened the files the morning after the Cardi session and they were both sitting in my inbox with a message that just said the names. Notice Me and Need It. He said for Notice Me they just needed the hook. For Need It he said do whatever you want with it, which in Quavo language meant he trusted me, which was not a small thing.
I listened to both of them back to back at the kitchen table with a coffee. They were different. Notice Me was cleaner, more melodic, the kind of record that lived in clubs but could run on radio too. Need It was harder, all energy, the kind of beat that made you want to move before the first bar was even over. I had a feeling about both of them.
I texted Quavo back.
in the studio at noon. sending both back same day.
He sent back a single emoji. That was enough.
* * *
Notice Me first.
The hook was what the song needed and I knew it fast. Melodic, smooth, the kind of thing that stuck without you realizing it was sticking. I went in the booth and did not overthink it. Three passes, picked the best one, came back out.
Got your hoe with me
I pull her slowly
Saint Laurent on both my feet
All this jewelry, they gon' notice me
And you know I got that Rol' on me
I put her slowly
Saint Laurent on both my feet
All this jewelry, they gon' notice me
Ayy
I wanna ride, ride, ride on it
Keep my eyes, eyes, eyes on her
Wanna grind, grind, grind on her
Ayy, wanna fly, fly, fly on it
Can I vibe, vibe, vibe on it?
Fox Five, Five, Five on it
Get live, yeah
All this jewelry, they gon' notice me (Ayy)
Birds in the traps singin' like Jodeci
I tip a bitch just 'cause of my courtesy (Tippin')
Then do a show, pick up my currency (Backend)
Versace slippers colored burgundy ('Sace!)
Rappers be talkin', think they hurtin' me (Uh-uh)
I took his hoe, make her come work for me (Bitch!)
Keep the Draco case in emergency (Grr, grat)
Ridin' 'round the city
Sippin' a tea, packin' the heat
Niggas that lookin' for me (Lookin' for)
Comin' up watchin' them niggas on TV
Like they were what I wanted to be (Wanted to)
Now I'm the one gettin' paid for it
Thank God, it's a blessing to see (Naw, for real)
Doin' shows, I'm on stage for it, Saint Laurent on my feet
Got your hoe with me
I pull her slowly
Saint Laurent on both my feet
All this jewelry, they gon' notice me
And you know I got that Rol' on me
I put her slowly
Saint Laurent on both my feet
All this jewelry, they gon' notice me
Ayy
I wanna ride, ride, ride on it
Keep my eyes, eyes, eyes on her
Wanna grind, grind, grind on her
Ayy, wanna fly, fly, fly on it
Can I vibe, vibe, vibe on it?
Fox Five, Five, Five on it
Get live, yeah
I told that bitch to drop a four for me (Drop a four)
Drop my top, now I'm exposing me (Skrt, skrt)
A lot of these rappers gettin' old to me (They kinda old)
Extortion publishin', you owe it to me (You know you owe)
I'm droppin' the top and showin' the titties (Drop top)
Run to the money, we tryna get fitted (Run to the money)
I clear my mind and I had a vision (I had a vision)
And then I arrive with twenty-five bitches (Then they arrive)
We sell out the whole facility
Not likin' your vibe, your energy (Vibe)
I came from the pot with Kimberly (Pot)
She sniffin' the lines, assembly (lines)
We had a good time in Italy (Time)
Yo, these niggas be lyin' about loyalty (Lyin')
Get on my knees, prayin' to God to cover me
Got your hoe with me
I pull her slowly
Saint Laurent on both my feet
All this jewelry, they gon' notice me
And you know I got that Rol' on me
I pull her slowly
Saint Laurent on both my feet
All this jewelry, they gon' notice me
Ayy
I wanna ride, ride, ride on it
Keep my eyes, eyes, eyes on her
Wanna grind, grind, grind on her
Ayy, wanna fly, fly, fly on it
Can I vibe, vibe, vibe on it?
Fox Five, Five, Five on it
Get live, yeah
Eastsside, yeah
Can we ride? Yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
The engineer played it back and I listened once standing up. It was right. Clean, sticky, exactly what that song needed without taking anything away from the Migos' energy on their verses.
I checked the time. I had been in the booth for less than forty minutes.
I grabbed a water and sat back down. One more to go. The harder one.
* * *
Need It was different.
It was the third session of the day and by that point I was in a zone that I could not always manufacture but sometimes just arrived in on its own, where everything felt loose and sharp at the same time and the words came faster than thinking. I had not written anything down. I was not going to.
I stood at the mic and let the beat run once through my headphones. It was hard and heavy and it had exactly the energy I needed.
"Let's go," I said.
* * *
Surrounded by some real niggas (Lil Top)
Hey
Yessir (they won't do it)
(Buddah Bless this beat)
I said I need it
This Draco undefeated (rrah)
Hit your block and then I bleed it (yeah)
Go long, these bullets, he receive it
I can't see it (I can't)
My wrist look like a snow cone, make her eat it
Once I see her, I give her that dope dick just like it's ether
Then I leave her, I can't get caught up, I can't be on Cheaters
There go them people, you know what it is
Go put the dope up 'fore they breach us
Before they breach us
I'ma get out this bitch and I'm strikin', I'm throwin' my heater
Whole lotta money, and steady keep comin'
Forever I'm livin' my life like a bleeder (slime)
Dope boy (dope)
I'm straight out the East, I came up sellin' hard (hard)
Heroin (dawg)
I'm straight from the East, I went and bought me a Dawn (the East)
I jumped off the porch and went bought me a gun
We boardin' the jet 'cause my dawg got a warrant
We don't give a fuck, bring the stick, where we goin'?
I'm booted up off that Molly, I cover my gun
This stick got a ELO, my aim on point (on point)
Shootin' that Glock give me pain in my joints (pew-pew)
We shoot a fifty-round drum, honey bun (bun)
I want two thousand, I want both of they tongues
I know how to handle it, bust on my damages
These niggas can't run, we gon' peel everyone
You know where I'm from, give a fuck how you come
Got a stick in the car and it sound like a bomb (boom)
I came in this bitch with a mil' worth of cash (m)
Like Bandicoot, we 'bout to crash (crash)
No remorse, I put five through your dash (bitch)
Off the porch, bought a Porsche, then I drag
Out the building, them young niggas slide (slide)
Put up 30, now you do the math (fool)
If you seek on my son, I won't hide (I won't hide)
Bullets rain, we give him a bath
I said I need it
This Draco undefeated (rrah)
Hit your block and then I bleed it (yeah)
Go long, these bullets, he receive it
I can't see it
My wrist look like a snow cone, make her eat it
Once I see her, I give her that dope dick just like it's ether
Then I leave her, I can't get caught up, I can't be on Cheaters
There go them people, you know what it is
Go put the dope up 'fore they breach us
Before they breach us
I'ma get out this bitch and I'm strikin', I'm throwin' my heater
Whole lotta money, and steady keep comin'
Forever I'm livin' my life like a bleeder
From the bando to Baton, we makin' it happen
I like a bitch bougie but keep me a ratchet
Winning's fantastic, Cartiers straight out the plastic
Diamonds in all of my glasses (chill)
I'm fuckin' more bitches than Magic
Straight out the basket, they say them young niggas havin' (hey)
The money too old, it's growin' maggots, nasty
Finger fuck it with the MAG (MAG)
I'm thinkin' they forgot the way we paved
We been givin' too many niggas these passes (too many)
Fuck it, drop a bag and cash it (fuck it)
Who gonna press 'em the fastest? (who?)
Extendo barrel elastic, new attachment, shit get tactic (tactical)
They stole the flow (go), now they tryna run off with the fashion
My neck, I freeze it (ice), just give us the reason
Make that smoke look easy (ooh-ooh, easy)
Couple blue hunnids with the stones, it's bleedin' (bleedin')
What's your issue? If you got a trigger, just squeeze it (bah, squeeze it, bah, squeeze it)
Whole block outside, it's a street fest
Ain't no peace treaty
These stones around my Jesus, they ain't treated
They got me heated
Don't play with the gang, they know that we be undefeated
I get to squeezin' (I get to squeezin')
When we talkin' beef, they say that they vegan
Just for no reason (just for no reason, woo)
We coppin' more ice, ain't talkin' a freezer (ice)
I said I need it
This Draco undefeated (rrah)
Hit your block and then I bleed it (yeah)
Go long, these bullets, he receive it (oh-oh)
I can't see it (I can't)
My wrist look like a snow cone, make her eat it
Once I see her, I give her that dope dick just like it's ether (oh-oh)
Then I leave her, I can't get caught up, I can't be on Cheaters
There go them people (them people), you know what it is
Go put the dope up 'fore they breach us
Before they breach us
I'ma get out this bitch and I'm strikin', I'm throwin' my heater
Whole lotta money, and steady keep comin'
Forever I'm livin' my life like a bleeder (slime)
* * *
I pulled the headphones off and stood there for a second in the quiet of the booth.
That one had taken something out of me. Not in a bad way. In the way that meant I had actually been in it, all the way, no part of my brain standing outside watching. The best takes always felt like that afterward, like you had used something up.
I came out of the booth. The engineer was leaning back in his chair with his hands behind his head staring at the ceiling.
"Third session today," I said.
"Yeah," he said. He did not move from the ceiling. "You good?"
"I'm good."
He finally looked over at me. "That last one was different."
I sat on the couch and drank the rest of my water. My phone had a text from Quavo that had come in while I was in the booth.
when you sending
I looked at the engineer. "Bounce both and send them."
"Both?"
"Both."
He turned back to the board. I texted Quavo back.
already done. check your inbox.
Three sessions. Three records. All in one day.
I sat there on the couch for a while after the engineer sent the files, not thinking about anything in particular, just letting the day settle. The Grammy week was the most visible thing that had happened to me but this, three sessions back to back, hooking up with Cardi and the Migos in the same stretch, watching June's phone blow up every time I sent something out, this was the thing that felt most real. The work. The way it kept coming and kept being good.
I was twenty-three years old with two Grammys and a label and two artists climbing and collaborations with people I had watched on television as a kid.
East Highland had no idea what it had made