Britney Spears fans were overjoyed two weeks ago when the star released the first single from her upcoming LP.
Titled “Make Me,” the harmony filled midtempo pop ballad features a guest verse from Oakland rapper G-Eazy, who has been having quite a successful year already. His debut, When It's Dark Out, was released at the end of last year and features collaborations with a number of big names, like Too $hort, Chris Brown, and E-40. It charted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in its first week, and early this July was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
[jump] For much of this year, G-Eazy has been on tour, and it was actually while he was in Australia that he got the news via email that Spears wanted to do a song with him. According to Rolling Stone, the 27-year-old immediately agreed — calling the collaboration “a no-brainer” — and was keen to start working on it right away.
“That kind of thing, you just drop whatever you're doing to do it,” he said of his mission to find a recording studio in Australia to lay down his verse.
In the two weeks that the song has been on YouTube, it has amassed almost 12 million plays, which makes sense: Spears is still a pretty big deal. G-Eazy said he grew up listening to her and watching her on the VMA's.
“She was one of the biggest entertainers in the world,” he said. “And still is.”