DJ Khaled stopped by Drink Champs this past week to talk about how some of his biggest hits came to be. When discussing “Wild Thoughts,” his 2017 collaboration with Rihanna and Bryson Tiller, he revealed the track as we know it almost didn’t make it in time for the album.
Although Rihanna handed in her two verses and hooks in well before the deadline, Khaled remembers having to chase Tiller down to get his contributions
“I’m calling Bryson, my album comes out in like in two weeks,” he said. “‘Yo bro, I need you need to cut the vocals over. You know that Rihanna’s vocals is in, you hear that, right? Everybody’s excited.’ He’s not picking up his phone. … I need this done. I got f*ckin’ Rihanna vocals. One of my biggest records in my career. He not picking up the phone.”
Desperate to get his portion of the track, Khaled went to Tiller’s home to get the vocals in person
“He has a gate. I’m flashing my lights, honking my horns, sending texts. Nobody’s replying,” he said. “You think I’m playing with this sh*t? One thing about me, anybody know me I don’t play no games. … Eventually….Bryson comes out, they open the gate—I was already climbing the gate.”
The Drink Champs roundtable laughed, prompting Khaled to say, “You think I’m playing? Ask them. Call them. … Get their version, it might be more intense.”
Check out the full episode of Drink Champs above.