During a recent sitdown with DJ Akademiks on his Off The Record podcast, Hit-Boy dished on some of his biggest records, including “Sicko Mode” and “N***as In Paris”. When speaking on “Sicko Mode”, the producer admitted that he actually played the beat for JAY-Z, but it was a little too late. Though Hov had a wild vision for the beat, Travis Scott paid up first. When it comes to choosing who will take the beat, it’s all about the money for Hit-Boy.
“I don’t promise beats my n***a. When I get paid, that’s who gets the beat,” Hit-Boy said. Travis had the beat for “Sicko Mode” for almost two years before it was released ahead of his Astroworld album. It wasn’t until after the song was released that Jay would come back to Hit-Boy about the beat. “You’re not going to Saks Fifth, you’re not going to Neiman Marcus and being like, ‘Cool I’m about to get a few outfits I’m finna wear these sh*ts out, I’mma think about paying you later,’ like, nah. You gotta pay for this sh*t and then it’s yours,” he continued.
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If Hov had that track, the potential is unimaginable but Travis did it justice, eventually reaching diamond status. The multi-dimensional single dropped on August 21, 2018, featuring Drake and Swae Lee. The critically-acclaimed song was Scott’s first number-one single on the U.S Billboard Hot 100 and would receive Grammy nominations for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song.
Hit-Boy has had a monumental career, consistently producing record-breaking hits. During the rest of the episode, he talked about his collaborations with the likes of Kanye West, Beyoncé, Nipsey Hussle, and Nas. Check out the rest of the podcast below.