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.
Santi’s debut album, Mandy & The Jungle is easily among the strongest Nigerian projects of the year, and one of its standout tracks is the Kida Kudz-assisted “Raw Dinner”, stunningly produced by Higo.
Higo’s production discography is awe-inspiring — creating gems for stars like Odunsi, M.I and Prettyboy D-O — and his last release, “Friday Night” was a necessary reminder of his considerable gifts.
So, we decided to catch up with him and discuss his work on the fantastic “Raw Dinner” — from meeting Santi, to using his own pain to create something dark and unforgettable.
On meeting Santi:
I met Santi through my friend, Le Mav in 2017. He sent the beat for “Raining Outside” to Santi after I sent it to our group chat. Fast forward to December that year, and I finally met him at the NATIVELAND event.
On first discussing “Raw Dinner”:
There was no conversation for the song per se. A month or two before I made the beat, I was contacted by someone from Santi’s team about producing a song for him that would feature a UK act.
I didn’t even know how I was going to do that. When I went to Santi’s place for a weekend, I made a beat there (which became “Raw Dinner”) and dropped a few others beats with him.
On main inspiration:
It came from a place of my personal uncertainties. I was just trying to make something, despite the fact that I was feeling pretty drained about a lot of things in my life at the time. That explains why it has a dark tone to it.
On difficulty level:
The only thing that was tasking was forcing my self to make a beat, even though I didn’t have everything I needed (midi keyboard, microphone). It took about 20/25 minutes, just like “Raining Outside”.
The difference between those two beats is that “Raining Outside” was made under ideal conditions, both external (equipment) and internal (I was more at peace with myself).
On coolest studio memory:
The coolest thing is, we weren’t really working. We were just chilling. It felt more like a sleepover than coming to work on music. Santi’s got that vibe about him.
He didn’t even record the song that day. I gave the beat to him before I left his place. A few months after, he recorded the hook and sent it to Kida Kudz.
The second verse, however, was recorded about 3 months before the album came out. We tried to get another feature for the second verse but the plans we had didn’t work.
On if he’d change anything:
I actually didn’t like the bass line on the song for a long time. It eventually grew on me. So, nah, it’s perfect. The simplicity, mistakes and laid-back style all make it perfect.
