How Tinashe & Ricky Reed Created the Viral Hit 'Nasty' | Behind the Song - video Dailymotion

Variety

Join us as we dive into the process of how Tinashe and Ricky Reed made this Summers internet sensation, 'Tinashe'. In this exclusive behind the song video, we get into the different elements of the track and how they kept the production simple.

Transcript

00:00My favorite harmony vibe is the...

00:02uh-uh, uh-uh

00:04Oh yeah!

00:06uh-uh, uh-uh

00:08uh-uh, uh-uh

00:10Like who makes that note choice?

00:12Hey, I'm Tinashe

00:14and I'm Ricky Reed

00:16and we're taking you Behind the Song, Nasty

00:18Up in a nasty girl

00:20Nasty up in a nasty girl

00:22Nasty up in a nasty girl

00:24Nasty up in a nasty girl

00:26It was a regular day

00:28in, I don't know, maybe November

00:30Initially we did a session

00:32where we just kinda like were catching vibes

00:34and like making some beats

00:36We left that session with like a couple rough ideas

00:38We had another session

00:40like a follow-up one

00:42So I had those rough beats and I wanted to come to the session with some ideas

00:44Typically when I write songs

00:46I like to record myself freestyling

00:48like vibing on the track

00:50So I set up my computer in my car

00:52on the way over here

00:54and I was recording myself freestyling on the beats

00:56I'd just gotten this necklace that said nasty

00:58because I have this nickname

01:00Nasty Nashe

01:02So I had in my mind like the concept of nasty

01:04or I wanted to write a song kinda like that

01:06I was driving over, I was freestyling in my car

01:08Kinda came up with the initial lines

01:10Is somebody gonna match my freak?

01:12I've been a nasty girl, nasty, I've been a nasty girl

01:14It was just kinda stuck

01:16It sounded right

01:18I was like trying to like serve things to you

01:20that I thought made sense, like

01:22Maybe she'll like this vibe, maybe she'll like that vibe

01:24I kept realizing every time

01:26It's gotta be a little weirder

01:28It's gotta be a little stranger

01:30It was like probably two or three sessions of her being like

01:32Give me the freaky shit

01:34over and over

01:36until this one was the first time where we

01:38sort of like found that middle ground

01:40both in the terms of the track

01:42and in what you were gonna say on it

01:44I definitely feel like

01:46that initial session where we were kinda

01:48brainstorming what the track should sound like

01:50there was a really interesting moment

01:52where we found that juxtaposition between

01:54like the minor chords and the major chords

01:56from the hook having

01:58kind of like a more open, soaring

02:00very melodic

02:02section to then something

02:04that was like super talky and chanty

02:06and then also incorporating those background

02:08vocals that made it sound even more like dark

02:10and mysterious and weird, so it was fun being able

02:12to like start with the idea of being

02:14like let's create two different sections that give you

02:16two different moods, and I feel like that created

02:18something that felt very satisfying

02:20to the listener. The day that

02:22we made it, we felt great about it

02:24and then about a week or two

02:26later I brought in a co-producer named

02:28Zach Seacoff. He was the first person

02:30that I played it for that I

02:32saw the reaction of someone who wasn't

02:34in the room on day one

02:36and especially coming out of the hook

02:38and the choice to lose the

02:40kick drum when we come out of the hook

02:42was the first time I saw it light somebody up

02:44and I was like this might be a thing

02:46Right here

02:50Pulling the kick out there

02:52and letting the 808s ride

02:54When I saw him moving to that I was like

02:56might have a record

02:58Basically there's two elements in the low end here

03:00well actually there's three technically in the song

03:02there's the 808 which I tapped out

03:04on a drum machine

03:08which is kind of a weird line

03:10To me this is what gives it that like

03:12west coast

03:14kind of fits that pocket so well

03:16What's really pleasing

03:18is when you go from the hook

03:20to the next part

03:22you have two low end elements

03:24that are in the hook

03:26this kick

03:28the synth bass

03:30but when it drops out to that 808

03:32that's the moment

03:38Yeah that's that shit

03:40As they say

03:42The one thing on this track

03:44that wasn't actually in the song

03:46this track that wasn't actually programmed

03:48but was played out live

03:50is actually this 808

03:52and I played out the 808

03:54live with her in here

03:58This song is one of the more

04:00simple from production

04:02standpoints

04:04the simplicity kind of makes it easier to digest

04:06and understand so I think that's some of the beauty

04:08of the less is more approach

04:10to the lyrics and the production

04:12of this song

04:14Everything that we've done together

04:16we have created it from scratch

04:18So this was another one of those that was

04:20both of us sitting down and me kind of playing things

04:22and I'll just be like if you like something just yell

04:24So we kind of just started with like a kick and a snare

04:26Pretty early on

04:28both of these main

04:30sort of like little chord loops

04:32I kind of developed

04:36Which of course is the intro and the

04:38chorus

04:40and then I also had this

04:44I was like

04:46ooh this one's weird

04:48and I was like well you're gonna have to pick one

04:50Tinashe and you were like

04:52do we really though?

04:54That was pretty early on in it and definitely

04:56day one

05:00Tapping out the 808s

05:02over that was a big moment in it

05:06We made the beat for day one

05:08I had the idea and we like

05:10workshopped the idea

05:12Then I took that workshop

05:14back to my studio and recorded

05:16it with my engineer and did the final

05:18vocals. You went and cut vocals

05:20I went in with my co-producer

05:22and then we mixed it

05:24The ones we have here are actually our demo vocal

05:26so you can hear what it sounded like

05:28on the very very very first

05:30day

05:36That part feels like the hook

05:38I've been a nasty girl, nasty

05:40That just feels like you want to keep returning to that

05:42That's the part that sticks in your head

05:44immediately and you can't forget it

05:46Also, I don't know what

05:48these are but the harmonies that

05:50Tinashe does

05:58Unbelievable

06:00My favorite harmony vibe is

06:02the

06:04Oh yeah

06:06Yeah to me this moment was almost

06:08reminiscent of Parliament

06:10or something

06:16Who makes that note choice?

06:18So then we layered a synth with it

06:28When I go into the studio I'm always

06:30considering how I'm going to dance to a

06:32song because dance is so important

06:34to me as an artist and how I

06:36express my music

06:38and how it's going to translate on stage

06:40and I think that this song has a particular

06:42BPM, a particular cadence

06:44a particular attitude that I always like to

06:46embody on stage. I think on stage I feel the most

06:48myself and the most confident

06:50and the most braggadocious

06:52so tapping into that persona, that character

06:54when thinking of the lyrics to the song was really

06:56helpful and then that's just kind of

06:58extended through the music video and trying to

07:00capture that really bad bitch

07:02energy that everybody wants to embody

07:04Something that you added

07:06when you did your vocal sessions that I never

07:08even got to tell you about how much I loved

07:10These little guys

07:12gals

07:18These little

07:20ones

07:22These go so hard

07:24Those are nice

07:26I just love how you're always down to use your voice

07:28as a sample

07:30you're always guided by

07:32what's just going to be the record

07:34what sounds hot and that's a great choice

07:36So I've just been having so much fun performing

07:38Nasty so far and getting that feedback

07:40from the fans and they're just so excited to hear it

07:42and they're singing the words and I'm just using

07:44that as inspiration to create the rest of the live

07:46show and kind of keep that energy

07:48moving and going and expanding

07:50I've been a nasty girl

07:52Nasty, I've been a nasty girl

07:54The thing about when I go into

07:56creating songs I never go with the expectation

07:58that it's going to perform any particular

08:00way, so as much as I always have

08:02the hope that each song is going to be

08:04this amazing hit

08:06I think my focus is generally on

08:08what's exciting to me, what's interesting

08:10to me, what's inspiring, what's moving

08:12me, so as much as I want to say

08:14yeah I knew from day one

08:16I feel like I kind

08:18of didn't approach it with the idea of

08:20let's make something catchy, memeable

08:22tiktok-y, that's always in the back

08:24of your head but that's never really what it's about

08:26My favorite part about the fact that

08:28the song has gone super viral on the internet

08:30is that everyone can kind of interpret it

08:32in their own way, there's so many different trends

08:34and versions of the trends, that's

08:36to me super exciting

08:38because it's not just serving one particular

08:40purpose or one particular audience

08:42it's really bridging the gaps

08:44it's just been so many different amazing

08:46ways that people are making it their own

08:48and relating to it and I think

08:50that's one of the most special parts about it

08:58Thanks for watching!

How Tinashe & Ricky Reed Created the Viral Hit 'Nasty' | Behind the Song

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