Words from Statik Selektah

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Obie came through my radio show at Shade 45, and I was like, “Yo, we gotta do something.” We were on the air, we had just met, and he’s like, “Yo, let’s do something tonight.” I was like, “All right,” and I thought it was just small talk.

After the show, I get out around midnight, and I go to this party that Premier was doing, and all of a sudden I get a text: “Yo, we’re on the way to your studio.” So we went to the studio — there were mad people there. I remember Freddie Gibbs was there, a couple girls, my man Push Montana, and Obie was just going through beats. He heard the “Richard” beat and was like, “That’s it, I got something for it right now.”

I remember there were mad people talking, drinking, partying, and Obie laid down the first verse, which is still on the record, and he left it at that. He’s like, “Yo, just send it to me, I think I’m going to put Marshall on this.” I was like, “All right,” but I didn’t really think it was going to happen — no disrespect to Obie — but I was just like, “Yeah? Like that easy?” ’Cause he hadn’t put a record out with Em in years.

Then like a month later, he hit me like, “Yo, Marshall wants to make the record.” Then I start hearing through the grapevine that Em killed it, so I’m getting mad anxious, ’cause all these people were telling me they heard the record, telling me about the hook and all that.

Then eventually, when it was time for Obie’s listening session, I remember the tracklist leaked and it said “Produced by Dr. Dre,” and I hit Obie like, “Yo, what happened to the song I did?” He goes, “Nah, that’s ‘Richard.’” Eventually there was a listening at The Source, and they invited me up. I heard the song, and I was blown away.