Mustard recalls that several rappers turned down the track that would become “Hey Now” on Kendrick Lamar‘s GNX album.
In an interview with PEOPLE, Mustard first made the track in 2019 and shared it with YG and Quavo who passed on it. Also, Ty Dolla $ign recorded a song to the track but Mustard decided to go another way.
“I played it for YG … I was trying to make a West Coast version of ‘Grindin’.’ That’s why it’s so empty like that,” Mustard said. “That’s why it’s just weird sounds. [H]e didn’t end up doing it.”
“After YG, And I played it for Quavo and I’m like, ‘Quavo man if you get this, if you can connect to this song, I’m telling you,’ he’s like, ‘What the hell you want me to do to it? You want me to whisper on the beat?’ And I’m like, ‘Alright.’ So I didn’t force it on him,” he continued.
Mustard noted that Kendrick got his hands on the track but he didn’t get to hear the finished product until the “Not Like Us” video shoot.
“I was talking to Kendrick one day and I was just like, ‘Man, I got this really weird-ass beat, but I really love it. Like, I know that I love this beat,” he explained. “And I sent it to him and right away he said, ‘Oh yeah, I got it.’ And I was like, ‘Alright.’ But still, I hadn’t heard it until I went to the ‘Not Like Us’ video shoot.”
Eventually, “Hey Now” peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Mustard also spoke about the impact of “Not Like Us” which is nominated for five Grammy Awards including “Song of the Year.”
“I just feel like all this sh*t I got to attribute to God,” Mustard said. “I’ve won a Grammy with Ella. I’ve been nominated for Grammys. I’ve had years of runs and I would think, ‘Maybe I’ll get a nomination here or there.’ So for this to come right now it’s just like, ‘Oh, sh*t. OK.’ It’s just time, man. Everything happens for a reason.”
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