Usher’s classic hit “Yeah!” has received an unofficial “Freek-A-Leek” remix after Lil Jon revealed how the song was originally recorded using the beat for Petey Pablo‘s song.
After the bit of trivia went viral after Usher’s Super Bowl halftime show, a remix was created that blended “Yeah!” with “Freek-A-Leek.”
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Lil Jon explained the background to the song in an interview with XXL.
“When we first did ‘Yeah!’ it was originally over the beat that turned into ‘Freek-A-Leek,'” he began. “Basically, I did a bunch of beats for Jive Records. That record was originally done for Mystikal.
“Mystikal didn’t take the beat and someone from Jive gave it to some writers to write to, and my boy C.O. wrote the song for Petey Pablo. But I didn’t know that they had recorded a full song.”
here is how it would have sounded https://t.co/VTQNqIs6F6pic.twitter.com/m9ere3Dh0a
— BLACCMASS (@blaccmassxx) February 15, 2024
WATCH: Lil Jon explains how Usher's "Yeah!" was originally recorded to the beat that eventually became Petey Pablo's "Freek-A-Leek."
"Thank god everything happened the way it did because I don't think 'Yeah!' would be 'Yeah!' if it was on the 'Freek-A-Leek' beat." pic.twitter.com/VON0lzGzBB
— XXL Magazine (@XXL) February 14, 2024
Jon went on to reveal that they only realized Pablo’s song had used the beat when it was played on the radio and they had to come up with a solution for Usher.
The crunk legend said he went back into the studio and “removed all of the music” off the track, leaving just the drums, and built a new beat.
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0Thank God everything happened the way it did because I don’t think ‘Yeah!’ would be ‘Yeah!’ if it was on the ‘Freek-A-Leek’ beat,” he reflected. “It’s a better song the way it is now.”
Lil Jon told a slightly different story when interviewed by MTV about the song in 2004, shortly after “Yeah!” had come out.
Explaining the mix-up, he said: “I run into Petey and he’s like, ‘You heard the shit I got over your beat?’ I’m like, ‘Oh shit,’ because Usher got the same beat. I try to work it with Jive that I can just do a new record for Petey because I knew this Usher record was gonna be monumental for my career.”
The iconic hit, which also featured Ludacris, went on to become a worldwide hit, selling over 13 million copies and topping the Billboard Hot 100 for nine consecutive weeks.
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The trio recently reunited to perform the song in its entirety at the climax of Usher’s Super Bowl halftime performance.
