NEW YORK (AP) – British singer-songwriter-producer Labrinth knew what he was in for when he learned he was about to work with Beyoncé: “She’s a perfectionist and she’s a Virgo, like my wife. Virgos are serious perfectionists.”
“I was like, ‘I know what I’m in for and I like that,'” he added.
The Grammy-nominated musician, born Timothy McKenzie, worked on the pop icon’s newest song, “Spirit,” from the new “Lion King” film, where she voices the character Nala. Labrinth said he and co-writer Ilya Salmanzadeh, who has crafted a number of Top 10 hits for Ariana Grande, were working on tracks for the film and hoped they’d come up with something Beyoncé could connect to.
“We kind of sent a rough demo over to her. She heard the song and she loved the vibe. She was like, ‘OK, I’m going to get in on it with you.’ She started helping us write the rest of the record,” Labrinth said in an interview from London on Wednesday. “It was just like, ‘This is incredible. It was just one of those moments where it was like, ‘OK, I think God’s blessing me now.'”
“Spirit” was released last week and appears on two albums: The new “Lion King” soundtrack as well as “The Lion King: The Gift,” a Beyoncé-produced album featuring songs inspired by the film. “The Gift,” out Friday, includes collaborations with Jay-Z, Blue Ivy and Kendrick Lamar, as well as African artists such as Tiwa Savage and Burna Boy.
Labrinth, who has six Top 10 hits in the United Kingdom and has produced for the Weeknd, Rihanna, Ed Sheeran and Nicki Minaj, said he was impressed with Beyoncé’s attention to detail and human spirit when working together.
“She cared about everything that was in the record. She cared about what piano we were going to use. Is there enough bass? Not many artists care that much,” he said. “Also, just the way she treated us as well. A lot of…
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