Check the Credits: Blac Elvis Tells the Stories Behind Writing Hits for Beyonce, T.I., Rick Ross & More

Working with Polow da Don

“We had a lot of success together. We would work for days on in. I would be up for literally three days here in Atlanta and leave and jump on a 6AM flight and go to LA and then stay up for another two days. It would be crazy, but I learned a lot from him. I’m a great musician. I’m a musician first. I’ve been playing keys and organs for like twenty years now, but to be able to learn drum-programming and production from him really, really taught me a lot over the years. A lot of people would say we were beefing and stuff, but that really wasn’t the case. I really respect him, because he gave me an opportunity that I would have never had if he didn’t offer it to me. He really just taught me to keep working hard. Like as long as you’re working and if you out-work everybody else then you’ll succeed. That’s why I tell people today it’s all about work. It’s your work ethic and if you’re sleeping then you’re going to get left behind honestly. That’s how the game goes, because there’s always some other kid that’s working harder than you. There’s always someone wanting to take your spot, so you definitely have to put the work in. Being able to work with him and work with so many incredible artists and have a lot of success was such a great experience in my life and I’m thankful for that. I remember being in Memphis in my homeboy’s attic when I got the phone call from Big Jon saying ‘Tomorrow you guys got the number one record in the world.’ I didn’t even know what that meant [laughs] “Glamourous” was just – I can’t even describe how big that record was. We was kind of running things back then. We had a nice little run.