As Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “Otis” makes its way around the internet and airwaves – to great acclaim – the daughter of the late Soul singer after whom the song is named has revealed the back story to the track.
“We first heard about the song in early July, end of June,” said Karla Redding-Andrews in an interview with Billboard. “Concord Music Group has the masters and Bill Belmont and Michele Smith from Concord brought it to us. There was a back and forth about whether the name of the song would be ‘Otis’ or ‘Otis Redding.’ And we just wanted to make sure lyrics and references in the song worked with the legacy of my father. To have two current, legendary artists use the legendary music of Otis Redding-we were quite honored.”
Redding-Andrews explained that she didn’t meet with either Hov or West, the latter of whom previously sampled Redding on Late Registration’s “Gone,” but explained that the determining factor in deciding whether or not co clear the sample is that “[i]t always amounts to respect to Otis.”
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Fans will notice that “Otis” is listed as “featuring Otis Redding.” When asked about how that came to be, Redding-Andrews simply replied, “The estate was offered the option to have ‘Otis’ receive a ‘featuring Otis Redding’ credit, and agreed.”
Watch the Throne is due in digital form on August 8.
Related: Cee Lo Green Says He “Didn’t Love” Jay-Z & Kanye West’s “Otis,” Praises Drake
