2 Chainz Talks About Recording “MERCY” With Kanye West & G.O.O.D. Music

VIBE: Were you guys in the studio together when you recorded “Mercy” How did the song even happen originally?
2 Chainz: I was invited to a secret location in L.A., and it was put together about a month ago. And all I can tell you is there’s more where that came from.

When you heard the beat, was it made already, or was Kanye making it as you stepped into the studio?
Well, working with dude, I’m sure you know he’s very creative. So it had a lot of new production done to it, meaning that I’m hearing sounds and stuff now that I didn’t hear when I recorded my verse.

Can you tell us about the atmosphere of that studio session?
The vibe was a studio adventure. We got the same objective, which is to keep hip-hop alive and also keep it entertaining, you know what I mean? It’s to give the summer something’ to listen to, and this is just the first installation.

I was actually there, front row in Texas, when you brought Kanye out. We were all sitting there and really couldn’t believe what was happening. Was that his idea, or was that your idea?
No, it was my idea, I wanted to do it. I’ve never been to South by Southwest, so I wanted to leave my presence behind. I wanted to let people know that I was gonna be around for a minute; I’m dealing with people that have had longevity, and I’m tryin’ to have longevity.

Definitely, man. It seems like you and Kanye have a new partnership or alliance going on, can you expand on that at all?
I mean, I think he’s the coolest dude and I think he’s one of the best producers in the world.

He’s able to bring people together like you, Pusha, and Sean all on one song. Do you feel like just being in a room with him kind of makes you more creative?
I love Sean’s music. Me and Pusha have songs separately, and me and Big Sean have songs separately as well. Yeah, so you know, it was just about having the same objective and the same goal, which is to take over the summer.