Interview Outakes: Aminé on Meeting André 3000 and Collaborating With Charlie Wilson, Nelly, and Kehlani
Last month, I did a piece for Billboard on Aminé during the release week of his debut album, Good for You. There are some outtakes that I couldn’t work into the feature, but I felt were cool stories on how certain songs were created. Below, you can read how “Wedding Crashers” was originally supposed to have Tyler, the Creator on it, the making of “Yellow” with Nelly, and more.
One of my freelance gigs is contributing to Willamette Week, which is a Portland-based alt-weekly. Since I started, I’ve had the opportunity to dig deeper into the local scene, reviewing Mic Capes’ Concrete Dreams, profiling RoBy, and showing love to hyphy revivalist P-Lo because the Northwest and The Bay have a strong musical bond. Writing about Aminé for a mainstream publication is a highlight for me this year because it felt like one of those full circle moments. Though I’ve lived in New York for six years, Oregon is still home court for me. We rarely get a talent like Aminé — whose music is able to break out of the Northwest’s conscious rap box — and I hope Good for You continues to brighten our moods and brings us joy. Now with Beyoncé showing love, there’s really no limit to his potential.
When you and Offset were cutting “Wedding Crashers,” did you guys do it in the studio?
Aminé: Nah, we were on separate coasts. He actually recorded “Wedding Crashers” at Macklemore’s house in Seattle or some shit. And I recorded it months prior. Surprisingly, Tyler, the Creator was supposed to be on “Wedding Crashers” for months. He was supposed to be on it with Offset. All of sudden, his album was coming a week before mine, and he got super busy. And so did I. It just didn’t work, timing wise for us.
Is that why you posted him on Instagram with “Where the verse at?”
Aminé: T knows exactly [how much] I wanted him badly for that song. It just timing wise it didn’t work out. I’m a big believer in everything meant to be. If it didn’t work out then, it’s fine. Another time will work out.
When you ran into André in New York, did you two set something up for later?
Aminé: I’m good friends with Fonzworth Bentley, and he’s best friends with André as well. He played him my album. André was telling me like, ‘Yo, I really like your album, etc.’ I was just like, ‘Man, those words…’ I would have never thought I heard that from him — a man of his stature.
Is there talks of collaborating or is that under wraps?
Aminé: Yeah, it’s kind of under wraps. I don’t want to jinx anything. That’s a unicorn.
When you were picking songs for this album, are a lot of them older? Newer?
Aminé: Some of them are hooks and ideas that I had for a year and a half that got turned into songs because Frank Dukes might have showed me a beat and that hook worked with that beat and some were just on the spot. There’s a song on there called “Sundays.” It’s one of my favorite songs because Frank Dukes had that beat in his laptop for two years he told me. He showed it to a ton of rappers, tons of artists, and nobody took it. And he showed it to me and I wanted it. Not because of that, but because I liked it. He didn’t tell me that until after I made the song. That made me feel so much better about the song.
How’d you and Charlie Wilson get together?
Aminé: Charlie Wilson worked because of Justin [Lehmann]’s relationship with the manager. He liked Justin as a person. Thank God Justin was a good person and his manager liked me as an artist and Charlie was so nice. Like when we had our first session together, it was only for him to sing “Turf.” And we were in the session together and he was so nice. He was like, ‘Man, you remind me of a young Kanye, Pharrell.’ I was like, ‘What? This is so tight.’ I was like starstruck cause I know this man. I’m a huge fan of Pharrell and ‘Ye, so you have to know this man if [you’re a fan of Pharrell and ‘Ye]. And he was just like, ‘Take advantage of me. Use me! I want you to use me right now!’ I was like, ‘Oh yeah? I got other songs.’ He was like, ‘OK, pull them up, pull them up!’ I was like, ‘Alright, word!’
He’s on a lot of them though.
Aminé: Yeah, he’s on three doing background vocals. He’s amazing. I’m a huge fan. To have that man involved in anything I did, it was just tight. If you told me last year I would have Charlie Wilson on my album, I’ma be like, ‘Alright, word.’
How’d you get Nelly to sing like that on “Yellow?” It’s different for him.
Aminé: So we were in the studio, me and Frank Dukes were finishing up “Sundays.” Electric Feel [in Santa Monica] and we were working on it. Nelly was in the room before it. I’m still a new artist so I get starstruck when I see these people. I’m like, ‘Yo, is that Nelly?’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah.’ And Frank Dukes jokingly says ‘We should get him to hop on all of our songs.’ I was like, ‘What? Shut up.’
His A&R Sterling [Simms] just comes into the room and he’s like, ‘Hey, what’s up Amine? How are you doing?’ And we were talking and he’s like, ‘Do you want to meet Nelly?’ I was like, ‘Yeah.’ He was like, ‘Alright, I’ma bring him in.’ And Nelly comes to our room and he was like ‘Yo, what’s up man? Big fan of what you’re doing.’ I was like, ‘Man, that’s crazy.’ I’m a huge fan of you.
He was so nice. Frank Dukes was like, ‘We actually want to get him on a song.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, if you’re down.’ He was like, ‘Yeah! What’s up? Let me cut it. I’m down!’ Cause I wrote his part, the bridge. I wrote that part. I was singing it originally and he was so down to sing it and I was like ‘Fuck it, I’ll take my vocals out and put Nelly’s.’ And he did it. I was like, ‘Man, this is so crazy.’ It’s predictable to get Nelly to just hop on a verse and rap. If I’m going to involve people, I like to do shit that isn’t normal. Like Offset on a happier, brighter track is just tight. He kind of finesses it.
“Heebiejeebies” is a song that a lot of people like.
Aminé: I actually met Kehlani for the first time in L.A. back in September of last year. We hung out. We met in the studio and we were sitting there working on a song and she was cutting it. And she came out and she was like, ‘Hey, what’s up?’ We talked for a little bit. Jahaan Sweet, who is there, and one of my good friends now, produced a lot on this album too. He just played a beat and I liked it. I was just humming some shit to it and then she was like, ‘You want to make a song?’ I was like, ‘Alright, yeah.’ I wrote the hook, I wrote my verse, and I was like, ‘Do you want to hop on it?’ And she’s like, ‘Yeah. Let’s do it.’ And she hopped on. It happened the day we met. It was just so natural and really casual.
Everything was happening back and forth. I wrote and recorded my parts. She’d sing some shit and I be like, ‘Oh, you can probably sing it this way.’ She was like, ‘Yeah, I’m down.’ And she would sing it. It was just a nice, collaborative effort. It’s cool working with an artist like that rather than you guys not knowing each other and working together.
Are we ever going to hear your remix to “F.U.B.U.” in full?
Aminé: “F.U.B.U.” is one of my favorite songs ever. It just like touches me — I almost like cry when I heard that song. Solange is just dope. I’m a huge fan. Hopefully she approves and something happens with that.
Good for You is available now. Buy it here.
