Check The Credits: Pop Wansel Speaks On Producing For Usher, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj & More

06.30.2014

MUSIC

“Your Love” – Nicki Minaj

“That was another made in my mom’s basement. I walked in the house one day and my sister was playing Annie Lennox’s “No More I Love You’s.” She just kept playing it over and over. I was like “Turn the song off already!” It was so annoying [laughs]. She told me that I should sample it. I already had this hook in my head. I went down to the basement, looped up the Annie Lennox song and I just put a kick and a snap. That’s why when you hear “Your Love” the beat is so simple and bare. It’s because I never actually finished the beat. I just laid down a skeleton for me to put my hook down, so I wouldn’t forget it. This was back in 2008. I was sending Nicki, who I love to death, some new shit that I had did for her. I accidentally attached “Your Love” to the email. It was a mistake. As soon as I realize that I had sent it to her I texted her to let her know not to pay attention to that “Your Love” beat. She called me like “What the fuck is this?” I was like “My bad. I didn’t mean to send it.” She told me she wanted the record. I was confused. She ended up doing it, but that was it. She never mentioned the record again. Two years later the song had leaked. She was devastated. She was like “This is going to ruin my career. I sound terrible. People hear me singing with Autotune.” She was just really embarrassed. I told her not to worry, because leaks go away. It leaked in January, but by April the leak still had not gone away. Nicki released an official single and everything, but that “Your Love” leak had still not gone away. I called her one day and said “This leak we have. This unmixed, unmastered demo we have charted on Billboard on its own.” This was four months after the leak. I guess Cash Money and Nicki were like “Fuck that. We’re putting this out.” I went back in and had to recreate the sample. Nicki rewrote her verses and she re-recorded the song. We officially released it in June and by July we were rolling with a number-one record. That was six months after the leak that we had a number-one record.”

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