Khalid just returned with his latest single, “Eleven”—and he spoke to Beats 1’s Zane Lowe about how this feel-good driving song pays homage to artists from an earlier era.
“It reminds me of that Timbaland era with Missy Elliott and Aaliyah,” he said. “Music just felt so good, you wanted to turn it on and just drive just to nowhere… I’m just more excited to see what my fans think because for me they’re the reason why I’m here. I mean they got me here, they got me this far. So I’m excited for them to receive it and just accept the new era.”
“My mom lives, breathes, sleeps R&B music,” he added. “So I really feel like this is the ode to just people who came before me.”
The Simon Says and Digi-produced track takes listeners on a late-night cruise, as Khalid sings:
Late at night, eleven, we’re cruisin'
Lately, I’ve been watchin' your movements
If I’m the only one that you’re choosin'
Am I your favorite drug you’ve been usin'?
“I love making music you can drive to,” he told Lowe. “I feel like ‘Eleven’ is the perfect track to just play on your stereo, grip the wheel of your car, and just go where the wind takes you.”
Khalid also revealed that Craig David’s ad-libs are hidden in the background. “Craig is super cool, he’s super dope. We got some of him tucked up in the back of that record for sure, a couple of hidden ad-libs, vocal chops, all that,” he said. “He definitely has the ad lib that’s just flying, just soaring across the song and I feel like it really makes it what it was in the first place. So I’m thankful that he’s on it.”
Elsewhere in the interview, he talked about artists he’d like to work with. “I want to get in with Clairo because I feel like that’s something that should’ve been done,” he said. “But we didn’t hit the mark with that… I know we’re gonna have one before the year’s up.”
“Eleven” follows his previous single, “Up All Night.” His last album, Free Spirit, came out last year.
Listen to the track above, and read all the lyrics to “Eleven” on Genius now.
