Photo by Lisa Lake/Getty Images for Roc Nation
Sheck Wes' “Mo Bamba” has been a slow-burning viral hit all summer, and the Harlem MC took some time to detail its creation alongside producers Take A Daytrip and 16yrold.
The artists appeared on the latest episode of The New York Times' “Diary of a Song” series, which has previously highlighted tracks by Diplo, Ed Sheeran, and Zedd.
In the interview, Sheck revealed that the song’s opening line was inspired by his lack of a manager, meaning that he was constantly fielding both personal and professional calls.
Denzel Baptiste of Take a Daytrip said that when they were working on the song he had an older laptop and that the instrumental froze during the recording session, leading to the beat dropping out at the beginning of Sheck’s verse where he raps:
Oh! Fuck! Shit! Bitch!
Young Sheck Wes and I’m getting really rich (ching-ching)
Per Baptiste, right as Sheck finished that first line, the instrumental started back up again and he continued rapping. 16yrold also confirmed that the vocals were recorded in a single take.
“It was like he did a triple backflip and landed perfectly on his feet,” Baptiste said of Sheck recording through the technical difficulties.
After the one vocal take was finished, Take a Daytrip wanted Sheck to write a second hook, but he refused, opting instead to simply do ad-libs. He provided some insight into his use of the word “Bitch,” which has become perhaps his best-known ad-lib and one that he used on Travis Scott’s “NO BYSTANDERS.”
“Everybody always loves my ad-libs,” he said. “I use the B word a lot, but I don’t say it to degrade women or anything. Anytime you hear me say ‘Bitch,’ it’s because it means that something’s got me angry or it’s something I really mean.”
16yrold has also worked with KILLY, Desiigner, and Nessly, while Take a Daytrip is known for collaborations with Juice WRLD and YBN Cordae.
Sheck Wes appeared on Genius' Verified series to break down “Mo Bamba.”
This week, “Mo Bamba” made its debut on the Billboard Hot 100, charting at No. 82.
Read all the lyrics to “Mo Bamba” and the rest of Sheck Wes' discography on Genius now.
