songwriting

Rihanna’s “California King Bed” Was Written In Minutes, Muni Long Recalls

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Rihanna’s 2010 Loud cut “California King Bed” remains a fan favorite even over a decade after its release, but according to Muni Long, it didn’t take long at all to write. During a recent interview with Complex, the songstress recalled cooking up the classic in a matter of minutes. According to her, she was in the midst of a major move when she hit the studio to work on the track and rushed through the writing process to get back to shopping for furniture online.

“I was in Miami at the time for ‘California King Bed,’ working out of We The Best studio, and I was actually working with Jermaine [Jackson] from The Runners,” she explained. “They had the chords and everything. I listened, I went back into the room, and they gave me the file.”

Read More: JAY-Z Called Up Stephen A. Smith Over His Viral Rihanna & Beyonce Comparison

Muni Long Wanted To Get Back To Furniture Shopping

Muni Long

“I wrote the song in like 10 minutes. I was like, ‘Turn it up, let me get this done real quick,’ so I could go back to looking for my furniture,” she admitted. The Florida-born performer also revealed that the song was expected to go to another famous singer. She learned months later that RiRi claimed it. “Originally, they were trying to pitch it to Kelly Clarkson,” she shared. “Then I came back two months later, and my publisher Ryan Press said that they were going to cut it for Rihanna. I was super excited.”

While fans are certainly having a blast looking back on some of the Fenty Beauty founder’s biggest hits, they can’t help but hope for more music. Luckily, when asked last month whether or not supporters can expect to hear a new album anytime soon, ASAP Rocky said “She’s working on it.” What do you think of Muni Long opening up about writing Rihanna’s hit “California King Bed”? Are you surprised that it only took her a few minutes? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below, and keep an eye on HNHH for more updates.

Read More: Rihanna Shuts Down New Album Questions On Instagram Live

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Quentin Miller Reveals Writing Credits On “Vultures 1”

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Quentin Miller reflected on working with Kanye West on his new album, Vultures 1, in a post on Instagram, over the weekend. He confirmed that he contributed to four songs across the tracklist.

“Exactly 20 years after the album that changed my life dropped …Who woulda known man,” Miller wrote. “Shoutout [The Game] for the intro to Ye, shoutout [Tracey Mills] for sealing the deal. Shoutout to @kanyewest & @tydollasign.” From there, he revealed which songs he helped out on. They include  “Stars,” “Talking” featuring North West, “Fuk Sumn” featuring Playboi Carti and Travis Scott, and “Beg Forgiveness,” featuring Chris Brown.

Read More: Quentin Miller: The Pen Behind Hip-Hop Hits

Quentin Miller At Barclays Center

NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 20: Rapper Quentin Miller attends TIDAL X. 1020 Amplified by HTC at Barclays Center of Brooklyn on October 20, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for TIDAL)

Miller first made a name for himself in the public eye for working with Drake. Amid the Toronto rapper’s feud with Meek Mill, Meek outed Miller as Drake’s ghostwriter. Last year, Miller reflected on that period of his career and revealed he wasn’t properly paid for working on Drake’s 2015 mixtape If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late. “I never got a single publishing check off any songs,” he told VladTV. “I had to feed my family off getting paid under the table in that situation, because Tricky and them wouldn’t let me go, I didn’t get out that deal ’til 2019, 2020; I signed [it in] 2011, I had to let go of a lot of shit just to get out. Even while I was in it, I never got a publishing check or nothing. I was just grinding, bro. I was grinding it out just hoping that one day that one song or working with that one artist is gonna change something — and that was the Drake thing! But it just didn’t change anything.”

Quentin Miller Reflects On Working With Kanye West

 
 
 
 
 
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In addition to Drake and Kanye, Miller has worked with a number of other stars in hip-hop over the years including Big Sean, Travis Scott, and more. Be on the lookout for further updates on Quentin Miller on HotNewHipHop.

Read More: DJ Drama Suggests “Gangsta Grillz” Mixtape With Quentin Miller After Drake Debacle

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SZA Says She Prefers Writing About “Embarrassing” Experiences: “I Get Bored”

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SZA says that she is bored of writing any songs she doesn’t feel are vulnerable. Reflecting on her process during a recent interview with Variety, SZA explained how she likes music that is “super embarrassing.”

“I guess it’s because I get bored as f*ck writing about anything that isn’t, like, super embarrassing,” SZA told Variety. “And I feel like those things that I don’t want to say or acknowledge about myself are (songwriting) material – if it interests me to the point where it’s worth the risk.” From there, she explained that she prefers to sing about the subtler parts of her life. “There’s mad aspects to my life,” SZA said. “But people don’t really know that because all I sing about are the hidden aspects that I think are more interesting. Honestly, I could write about jet-skiing with my friends, but I don’t want to make a song about that, and I don’t want to hear a song about it either.”

Read More: SZA Teases “Lana” With Cover Art Options Celebrating “SOS” 1-Year Anniversary

SZA Attends Variety’s Hitmakers

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 02: SZA accepts the Hitmaker of the Year award onstage during Variety’s. Hitmakers presented by Sony Audio on December 02, 2023 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Variety via Getty Images)

Elsewhere in her conversation with Variety, SZA explained that the upcoming deluxe edition of SOS, titled Lana, is beginning to feel like its own project. “It’s definitely turning into its own album… and I guess I could drop a new album randomly, because no one’s actually expecting that from me right now,” she told the outlet. “But I can’t tell if now’s the time to be consistent, or carefree. On the one hand it’s like, ‘What would Beyonce do?,’ but I am also deeply inspired by people who do whatever the fuck they want, like Frank Ocean and Andre 3000. Some of my favorite songs were the ones that I dropped on SoundCloud [early in her career], because it was so stress free.”

SZA Discusses Her Biggest Songs

The comments come after SZA shared several possible cover art choices for Lana on Instagram, on Sunday. Be on the lookout for further updates on SZA on HotNewHipHop.

Read More: SZA’s “SOS” Deluxe Coming This Fall With 7+ New Songs, Ice Spice & Saweetie Attend NYC Show

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Snoop Dogg Pulls Out Of Songwriters Hall Of Fame Ceremony, Cites “Personal Reasons”

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Just a few days before the dinner celebrating this year’s inductees to the Songwriters Hall of Fame, one honoree has pulled out. Snoop Dogg surprised fans when he announced he was backing out of the honor for personal reasons. According to Billboard, Snoop Dogg has deferred his induction and currently plans to join the hall next year. While it’s unclear specifically what causes Snoop to make this decision, he isn’t the first to take this route. Sade also deferred her induction to a future class, also expected to be in 2024.

The other five songwriters set to be honored appear to still be on board for the ceremony a few days from now. Post Malone is also set to be honored by the hall with the Hal David Starlight Award. The award “was established to honor gifted songwriters who are at an apex in their careers and are making a significant impact in the music industry via their original songs.”  The Hall Of Fame seeks to honor those who craft notable songs and has approximately 400 members.

Snoop Dogg Waiting Till Next Year

BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA – MAY 03: Snoop Dogg attends the 2023 Milken Institute Global Conference at The Beverly Hilton on May 03, 2023 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images)

The news comes right after Snoop Dogg received another disappointment. After months of trying to become the first black owner of an NHL team Snoop ultimately missed his chance. Toronto billionaire Michael Andlauer has bought the Ottawa Senators for $1 billion. The news comes after Snoop had already teased at becoming the team’s new owner with an Instagram post sporting custom sweatpants with the Senators logo.

Snoop also showed off another custom piece a few days ago. In a video posted to his Instagram, he flexed a huge new chain that pays tribute to east coast rap legends Wu-Tang Clan. The video featured one of the group’s songs playing over it while Snoop showed off his new drip. What do you think about Snoop Dogg and Sade deferring their Songwriters Hall of Fame induction until 2024? Let us know in the comment section below.

Read More: Snoop Dogg Admits Losing “Gin & Juice” Grammy Hurt

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Quentin Miller Details Writing “R.I.C.O.” & DJ Drama Relationship

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Throughout the course of Hip-Hop history, there have been countless beefs between rappers. Although his neverending conflict with Pusha T has become a career-defining back-and-forth for him, Drake’s first major beef involved Meek Mill. While tensions were undoubtedly brewing behind the scenes, most casual fans can trace their conflict back to “R.I.C.O.” That Dreams Worth More Than Money cut led to a war of words and diss tracks between the close collaborators. Furthermore, it led to Atlanta-based rapper Quentin Miller being exposed as Drake’s alleged ghostwriter.

Eventually, the Meek and Drake beef was squashed, and in the years since, the two reunited on 2018’s “Going Bad.” Despite their reconciliation, Quentin Miller has still had to combat ghostwriting labels throughout his career. Now, in a candid sit-down with DJ Vlad, the WDNG Crshrs artist revealed more of the backstory behind “R.I.C.O.”

NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 20: Rapper Quentin Miller performs onstage during TIDAL X: 1020 Amplified by HTC at Barclays Center of Brooklyn on October 20, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for TIDAL)
READ MORE: Quentin Miller Clears Air Regarding Nas Collab

Quentin Miller discusses “R.I.C.O.,” Drake, DJ Drama, and Meek Mill during his latest VladTV interview.

“R.I.C.O.” single-handedly caused one of the biggest riffs in the music industry upon its release. Surprisingly, Quentin Miller wasn’t even initially aware that Drake decided to use his reference track. What’s more, Quentin Miller found out about it through DJ Drama.

“I had a super tight relationship with Drama at the time, so I sent him that. Just on some, ‘Check me out,’” Miller explained. “I looked up to Drama the same way I looked up to Drake. It’s like these are two legends, so [I was] just getting their approval on shit. A lot of times, just send shit or whatever.”

He continued, saying, “Then one random day in a club with Drama in L.A., he’s like, ‘Yo, you know Meek got on that joint.’ And I’m like, ‘What joint?’ He’s like, ‘The “R.I.C.O.” joint.’” And at the time, I hadn’t heard Drake’s version of “R.I.C.O.” I didn’t even know that Drake did it. So by the time I found out, we were already in it. We were in the thick of this shit.”

Elsewhere in the VladTV interview, Miller revealed that Meek Mill allegedly contacted Miller to write for him as well. However, Miller asserted that the energy was off, so he claims he repeatedly denied Meek’s requests.

Check out Quentin Miller’s latest VladTV interview clip below.

Read More: DJ Drama Lists Everyone Who “Did Something Wrong” During Drake-Meek Mill Beef Era

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