It’s always fun to trace the histories and evolutions of songs’ serpentine paths through the labyrinth that is the music industry. It’s rare that a song makes it to commercial release in its original form — or even all that quickly after it’s recorded. Thanks to Hit-Boy, we’ve got a prime example from Beyoncé‘s new album Renaissance. As the California producer told Rolling Stone Music Now, he was forced to hold the beat for “Thique” for nearly a decade until Beyoncé herself was ready to release it.
“I had to sit on that beat for eight years!” he said. “That’s the way the game goes sometimes. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs in the game and certain people will perceive like, ‘Oh, where’s Hit-Boy been? What’s Hit-Boy been doing?’ But then I’m sitting on stuff like ‘Thique’ that just hasn’t materialized yet. Y’all don’t even know how ahead I really am… I’ve been holding onto legendary stuff, and there’s plenty more.” I think it’s fair to say that sometimes, the timing of a song’s release is more important than its quality. Perhaps the music business just wasn’t ready for a song like “Thique,” with its blend of four-on-the-floor techno and trap rap, until just now, as interest for EDM-inspired rap and R&B is cresting.
Elsewhere in the episode, Hit-Boy talks about a Beyoncé release that did come out around that time: “Bow Down” from her self-titled album. He also touches on a number of his biggest… ahem… hits. Check out the full episode here.