I imagined it was something that nobody expected but they were going to get. But over the years, you just kind of learn to not pay attention to the media and what they say about the records you work on. You know, deep down inside I was pretty surprised. Were you surprised to see that? Or is that something that you didn't pay attention to? When the record was released, fans really responded it, but it got mixed critical reviews.

That's intense.' That was the mom in her I think. I can tell she's like, What's the dude's writing on this? But when it really started to pan out, everyone was like, 'Fuck, this is some serious shit.' She was like, 'Are you OK?' I was like, 'I wrote this in the hospital.' She was like, 'Oh my god. Sometimes she'll give you this look, like she's not sure. There was some weird instrumentation and stuff. But at the same time, I'm working on this insane song and it helped me out so much.Д«ut when I came in with it, we had a bunch of musicians on it. My mom was in surgery and so I was kind of in a dark depressed place. I was writing the arrangements in a hospital room. ItвЂ™s so direct, but at the same time, the music is in this whole other world. ItвЂ™s a woman standing up, making a point of what she wants in life. вЂњFloydвЂќ is.lyrically alone.those lyrics are the shit.

I think those interactions obviously probably instilled something in those musicians to transmit the energy back into the tracks as well.Д¬ould you give me the backstory on a track that was particularly meaningful to create?

Whatever musicians were there recording, she was always hanging out with them. We weren't shacked up in this super sterile recording studio. Most of the times we were doing it at Dave's house. A lot of food was being made and being eaten on those sessions and it was awesome. So he'd get some stuff going in the kitchen and then she would. It was kind of a friendly battle between Dave and K because Dave's a pretty good chef as well. We had a Friday night fish fry, which was the night all the guys recorded all the funny background vocals on that song. We didn't have a name for it when she did. She made jerk ribs for us when we were working on that song. I was wondering if there was any of it around when you were recording? Or did she cook for everyone?ДЄll the time. Her cooking obviously was a major inspiration for this record. But because her vocal ability is so strong, it really pushed myself and the other horn players to really put a lot into it. I kind of just supplied what the song calls for and how it fits the vocal and stuff. But at the same time, the chorus is almost on some Quincy Jones vibes. So you know, that called for super Afrobeat horns. I was in the original Antibalas so I'm very well versed in Afrobeats. But then, once we heard вЂњJerk Ribs,вЂќ it's like this super Afrobeat, Afro-funk banger. It's definitely in there on certain songs like вЂњRunningвЂќ and вЂњForever Be.вЂќ It's very lush in that way. a really вЂ70s, almost psychedelic soul with a Minnie Ripperton and Delfonics sound. Please could you talk about the horn work that you did on the album, which is such a strong selling point on it. Very observant and knows what's going on around her.

She was always super smart, intellectual and very with it. Just a really down to earth, awesome person. But then, when we met up with her again, she had basically gone through the whole machine of the entertainment biz. When I first met her, she was pretty fresh on the scene. What was she like in the studio versus when you met her on tour? It was really fun to kind of provide an instrumental pallet for her to do her thing. For me, my role is being an arranger and horn player and providing musicians and stuff. Crazy low notes with really a lot of control, which I'm sure you can hear on the record. She was singing ways that I never heard her sing before. So it just all kind of fell into place with what she was trying to do, which was trying to express how musical she was. We were vibing on Minnie Ripperton and that type of stuff as well. At that time, I was kind of into big, but soft soul vibes - the Delfonics and Barry White - and bigger sounding arrangements over soul stuff, and she was really feeling it. Right off the bat, K and I just really connected musically. I was like, 'No way!' We weren't super tight but we knew each other.

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