Labrinth says Nicki Minaj's song 'Majesty' was inspired by The Beatles.
Labrinth
The 29-year-old British producer-and-songwriter co-wrote, produced and even provided guest vocals on the hip-hop track on the 35-year-old rapper's latest LP 'Queen', and he's revealed he intended to fuse the sounds of the 60s - namely the 'Let It Be' hitmakers - with "classic hip-hop".
Comparing making music to being in fantasy movie franchise 'Lord of the Rings', Labrinth - whose real name is Timothy Lee McKenzie - explained: "I was making wild records in the studio. That's basically where I live. I call musicians Gollums. We're all Smeagols, working on our precious. I sung the 'Majesty' chorus -- it sounds like a sample, but I play piano and four instruments.
"I wanted it to feel like a Beatles record or a classic late-60s - early 70s-style record.
"But then I wanted to switch from that into a crazy hip-hop drop. I missed classic hip-hop. I wanted to make an upgrade of that energy."
The song also features a verse from Eminem, which Labrinth didn't know about till he heard the record, but was "blown away" by.
He told Rolling Stone magazine: "I heard about the 'Queen' album, and I was like, this beat is perfect for that energy, that message.
"So I sent a few records over. With a lot of these artists, you send records, you don't know if it's gonna make it. But it went with her theme, Nicki really loved it, and before you know it, she put this crazy-ass verse on ['Majesty'].
"Her A&R played it for me and I was like, 'this sh*t is wild.'
"I didn't know about Eminem on the record. When I heard it, my head just blew up."
The 'Earthquake' hitmaker heaped praise on the 'River' rapper, adding: "That's one of the best verses I've heard from Eminem in a long time."
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