New Mariah Carey song co-written by Fresco Kane | mcarchives.com

Friday 12 October 2018

New Mariah Carey song co-written by Fresco Kane

East St. Louis rapper Fresco Kane says he can't stay "Dope Boy Fresh" forever. In 2006 he broke through with his hit "Dope Boy Fresh" (when he was going by the name Gena), followed by a deal with Jermaine Dupri's So So Def Records in 2012 resulting in the song "Hot".

But now, he's hit a new high. Kane is one of three co-writers on the new Mariah Carey single "With You", along with Carey herself and Prince Charlez. The song is produced by current hitmaker DJ Mustard and is the first official single from Carey's upcoming album.

She recently premiered the song on "The American Music Awards" (he got an email from Dick Clark Productions in advance telling him the song was being performed), and the video was just released.

"When I saw my name among Mariah Carey and DJ Mustard, I teared up. She's such a legend. It's like working with Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston. She's done so much for music," he says. He's been a fan of Carey's since her "Vision of Love" days. "It's surreal. I'm still in disbelief."

Kane describes the classic-sounding song as an indicator "she is back and here to stay. It sounds like it could have been from 'The Emancipation of Mimi' (2005) album." Kane, Charlez and Carey wrote the song over a two-day period at Westlake Studios in Los Angeles.

The link to Carey began late last year when Kane's longtime friend and producer Squat Beats, who also hails from East St. Louis, introduced him to Charlez, an Atlanta songwriter credited on Rihanna's "Needed Me". Kane played some of the songs he wrote and produced for Charlez to listen to, and they clicked.

"His whole thing when he heard my music was he said he had to help me out." The three of them ended up making a song together recorded by Cardi B, though she passed on putting it on her album. Kane and Charlez kept writing songs together, and in March Charlez invited Kane to Los Angeles for a recording session with Carey and DJ Mustard.

"I was just stunned, but I said, 'hell yeah'," he says. "I had to get my money up and get my ticket out there. I almost didn't make it." The first day of the session, Kane didn't actually enter the studio with Carey, though Charlez and DJ Mustard did, "prepping it". He met Carey at the end of the first day; she said she remembered him from the days he was signed with Dupri (Dupri is behind several of her biggest hits).

It was "on and poppin'" the next day as the three of them hunkered down in the studio. To help get in his zone, Kane came equipped with his fave - a bottle of Remy Martin. Carey came equipped as well. "She had her wine, her candles and incense. They played the beat, and we got to writing. She started taking shots with me, and put the shots of Remy in the song," he says. He also says he encouraged her to include a lyric he wrote that includes an expletive, though she was hesitant. "She said 'I can't do that.'"

Kane says Carey was excited during the session and "she kept saying JD (Jermaine Dupri) was going to be jealous. Then she FaceTimed JD and said 'look, I'm here with your friend'." Dupri told her she was in good hands, and that they were going to create something special.

Though Carey's diva reputation precedes her, he didn't encounter any of that. "She gave me such a good vibe. She was so down to earth. My mom is my best friend, and she likes to drink her wine and relax just like Mariah."

For months after the recording, Kane didn't hear anything about the song, which isn't unusual, though he'd get an occasional text from Carey telling him she was excited about the song. Leading up to "With You", Carey released a "buzz track" called "GTFO". Kane didn't hear the final version until the rest of the world did.

Kane's ascent as a songwriter is surprising to most who know him for "Dope Boy Fresh", but he says he has actually been a songwriter and producer all along and has worked on tracks for Jagged Edge, Jill Scott, Mase and Raekwon. "My situation was a lot of people forced me to be a rapper. It was very frustrating to me," he says.

Kane is sure he'll work with Carey again some day. For now, he's working on projects with Metro Boomin and Teddy Riley, and he'll continue rapping while also writing and producing. Look for a song soon titled "Red Light" produced by Sham of Trak Starz. "He sent me this beat, and I instantly went crazy. It's a club joint, a radio joint and a strip club joint. There's a big push coming on that one."

Kane knows this all looks like a comeback, but he's not seeing it that way. "People think I've been quiet, but I really haven't. This is what I needed for people to see me on a different level," he says. "I'm just going to capitalize on it as much as I can. This is my foot in the door. Before if was only half a foot."

(STLtoday)



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