Kelela via THEFADER /

This came from a conversation I had with Asma Maroof from Nguzunguzu. She hit me and was like, “Girl, have you seen this documentary 20 Feet From Stardom?” I watched the film: it essentially tells the story of black women in popular music for the past 50 years. It’s so crazy how nameless and faceless [they are]. I’d never processed how many white men in popular music used black women’s vocals. I never noticed [it’s] the back-up part that I’m singing [along to] in the song, or the part that’s so recognizable. And all the dude is doing is yelling over it. It’s this literal representation of how I can feel sometimes. The American psyche can’t really process black women, especially without a major label behind them. Unless you’re on a major label, you’re not busting out the woodwork and making your mark in the indie world if you’re a black girl.

Later on, I was in Miami for Art Basel and Asma was playing something—I ran up to the stage and I was like, “What is this track and why is it not already on my computer right now?” She was like, “I was gonna send it to you!” So I started working on the track last winter, over the Christmas break. Asma sampled a song from [20 Feet From Stardom], a song by [one of the film’s stars] Lisa Fischer called “How Can I Ease the Pain.” It’s the sample that introduces the song and plays throughout.

I wrote most of it myself, and I also wrote a little part with Sam Dew. And then [producer] Ariel Rechtshaid helped bring it to another level. The song that I wrote is essentially a narrative of a woman being the dominant person is the bedroom, but also dealing with someone who doesn’t necessarily represent what you think of as a bottom. So, an alpha male who is being dominated by a powerful woman. Essentially, it drives the point home of a powerful man who always wants to be dominated by a powerful woman. If you’re really on it—if you’re next-level, dude—you’re really just trying to be taken over in that way.