One of producer Murda Beatz’s biggest hits is 6ix9ine and Nicki Minaj’s “FEFE,” but the song could’ve sounded quite different. In a recent No Jumper interview, the Canadian producer revealed that the track was originally meant for his previous collaborator Drake.
“I made the beat in the LA on my kitchen table, and I thought it was like an anthem for Drake,” said Murda. “I sent it to Drake, got no response.”
Later on, Murda went to New York, where a friend suggested he link up with 6ix9ine. “I wasn’t really a fan of his music, but I’m like, ‘I’ll just do it. Fuck it, have him pull up. It’ll definitely be an experience,’” the producer remembered. “Then he pulled up, and then that’s one of the beats he was fucking with. We made ‘FEFE’ that night. Nicki really fucks with me, so then she somehow got on it… She felt like I was co-signing 6ix9ine.”
In a 2018 interview with Angie Martinez, 6ix9ine claimed he put “no effort” into recording the track. “We go in the studio and just be having fun and then it’s a hit,” the Brooklyn rapper said. “I didn’t put no effort into that shit. I know J. Cole sits back, Kendrick Lamar sits back and be like, ‘This kid.’”
Following the track’s release, many fans pointed out the cadence used by 6ix9ine and Nicki on “FEFE” is similar to Valee’s feature verse on Z Money’s 2017 song, “Two 16’s.”
Genius broke down the controversy:
“FEFE” reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it 6ix9ine’s highest-peaking single on the chart and Nicki’s biggest hit in years. Murda’s highest-charting hit on the Hot 100 is Drake’s “Nice for What,” which spent eight weeks at No. 1.
Catch up on all the lyrics to 6ix9ine & Nicki Minaj’s “FEFE” on Genius now.
