For the love of the real stars, the producers, we created #Beatsmith — a series that focuses on the connections and inspirations that led to the creation of that hit song or album.
Joeboy has had a truly incredible breakout year, thanks to the back-to-back success of “Baby”, “Beginning”, “Don’t Call Me Back” and “All For You”. Well, out of those four career-making singles, two of them were produced by rising beatsmith, Beats by KO.
So, we decided to catch up with Beats by KO, who is also deservedly enjoying a breakout year of his own. He talked about meeting Joeboy two years ago, working on his latest hit, “All For You”, and why they never really have to plan a song.
On meeting Joeboy:
I met Joeboy about two years ago, through a secondary school friend. He was in Unilag with him, and he told me about how good his music was and how great he thought we’d sound together. So, we started talking, I sent him a couple of my beats and he liked all of them. That’s how it all began.
On first discussing “All For You”:
We never actually had a conversation about making “All For You”. Joeboy, Oxygen Mix and I typically just go into the studio and catch a vibe. We never really plan to do a particular song, we just create whatever the vibe brings. That’s what happened with “All For You”.
On main influence:
I listen to A LOT of music, so it’s really hard to point to any particular song or songs that influence my work. It’s usually how I’m feeling at the moment that inspires what I do. So, with “All For You”, it was just my state of mind at the time that influenced me.
On the difficulty level:
This one was actually less than “Don’t Call Me Back”. It was like a gift, it kind of just came to us. There are some songs you work on, where everything seems to be going fine, and in the end, it just doesn’t come together. That wasn’t the case with “All For You”. The vibe that day was just perfect.
On the most exciting studio memory:
I remember the studio being really full — a lot of our friends were around — so the energy was great. We also took breaks to play FIFA, and even though Joeboy and Oxygen Mix beat me, it was fun. Honestly, just being in the studio with talented people is exciting to me.
On if he’d change anything:
No. At all. I’m the type of person that does not go back to things after I’m done. So, yeah, I feel like the song is exactly how it’s meant to be. If there was any change that needed to be made, I would have definitely done it before it dropped.
