After years of making music, Norwegian duo Madcon has found tremendous Stateside success through their single “Beggin’.” The song, which prominently featured in an Adidas commercial with cameos from Method Man, Young Jeezy, DMC and Missy Elliot, takes its inspiration from Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons‘ 1967 single of the same name.
Speaking with HipHopDX from the Universal Republic Records offices, Madcon member Tshwae explained the song’s personal inspiration, despite its party-play, “I grew up with my grandfather, and he always loved that song because that reminded him about his wife who had passed away, a person I didn’t know because that was my grandmother. He would tell me about how much he loved that song because it reminded him so much about her, so to me, that was just a tribute.“
Partner Yosef added, “The fact that when we remade it, nothing is sampled, it’s a remake, so when we remade it and gave it that 2009-type of new-and-improved version…when we did that, it kind of got that new thump to it. The vibe is of a different form from what it was, so a lot of b-boys picked it up. They started to love it, now it became like the b-boy anthem, so I understand that with that new thump, people can bounce to that song now.“
The single traveling oceans has been a slow, worthwhile process, he adds. “Coming from Europe, we stayed in Norway. That’s the whitest country on Earth. That’s the North Pole. This is not a joke, so for us coming from Norway to L.A., that’s a long way. And then we have people like Snoop Dogg [click to read] going, ‘Nephew, I liked your record,’ and to have people [show us love] for what we do over here [means a lot].” Reportedly Jermaine Dupri [click to read] and Lenny Kravitz have also championed the single.
Presently at work on their next full-length (the group released two previous international albums), Madcon hopes to join some festivals and tours this summer.
