With her fourth album Side Effects of You in stores tomorrow, Fantasia is moving forward with plans for her next single, “Without Me” featuring Missy Elliott and Kelly Rowland. During her interview with Rap-Up TV, the “American Idol” winner explained how the collaboration came together.
“Missy Elliott was the first person I thought about because we’re friends as well as we do business together,” she said of the hip-hop legend, who she met while working on her debut album Free Yourself. “And I knew that she would just lyrically kill the verse.”
After hearing Missy rhyme on J. Cole’s single “Nobody’s Perfect,” she reached out. “She just gave you that old Missy, so I called her and I was like, ‘Hey, I want that. Give me that vibe.'”
She also praised Kelly, who sings on the track. “Right now she’s doing her thing. We both kinda have that same story where you started from the bottom now you’re here,” she said. “She’s doing so well. She’s a strong black woman with strong black features, so I thought I can’t do this record with anybody else but Kelly and Missy.”
Fantasia is already planning a video, and wants Missy to direct it. “I want her to do the video for me. You look back at all her videos and they’re all amazing. She’s a genius. So me, her, and Kelly, we’re gonna get together and do this thing on our own.”
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