Drake brought the stars out in full force on his new album Certified Lover Boy. However, there’s two artists that received writing credits (on the same song nonetheless) that have some listeners raising their eyebrows.
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One of the controversies that ensued following the release of the album was from the song “TSU.” R. Kelly was given a writing credit on the track, something that caught backlash on the internet once it became known.
Drake’s longtime co-producer Noah “40” Shebib shared a comment on an Instagram post giving the background on why Kelly received a credit. Shebib explains that an R. Kelly song was playing in the background of a sample of OG Ron C, the co-founder of Swishahouse Records.
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“It has no significance no lyrics are present, R Kelly’s voice isn’t even present but if we wanted to use Ron C talking we were forced to license it,” Shebib wrote.
Shebib added that the credit “doesn’t sit well” with him, but wanted to clarify how Kelly ended up with a credit. “I’m not here to defend drakes lyrics,” he continued, “but I thought I would clear up that there is no actual R Kelly present and it’s a bit misleading to call him a co lyricist.”
*NSYNC was also given a credit on “TSU” as Drake sampled a cover of the Christopher Cross song “Sailing,” which was recorded by *NYSNC on their debut album. Chris Kirkpatrick spoke with Variety and said he was initially confused when he found out Drake chose to sample “Sailing.”
"At first, it didn't make sense because 'Sailing' was a cover," he said. "It's Christopher Cross' song. So, when I heard he sampled our version, I was like, 'I'm gonna go home and listen to it on some real speakers tonight and get excited.' I love it."
Kirkpatrick’s excitement over it has reached another level as he pretty much offered *NSYNC up for collaboration. "I would just sit back and go, 'Tell us what you need us to do and we'll figure it out,'" he said.
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