Exclusive: Keyshia Cole Taps Tupac, Young Thug for ‘11:11 Reset'
Keyshia Cole is starting over. After reaching the Point of No Return with her 2014 album, the R&B songstress is prepping the follow-up, 11:11 Reset, featuring DJ Khaled, Remy Ma, French Montana, Young Thug, and even Tupac Shakur.
Cole’s first project on Epic Records marks a new chapter in her life and career. “It’s time to hit the reset,” she told Rap-Up TV during a recent visit. “I’m at a new label. I’m bringing an end to my divorce, it’s finalizing. That’s a new reset.”
This new phase of her trajectory includes the Kamaiyah-assisted “Ride,” which samples Tupac’s “Hail Mary.” “[The song is like] we’re tired of being fucked over so we about to pull up on you and ride on you,” she explained. “It’s like, you don’t even understand what you’re doing, you’re really pissing me off, and my friends are mad about it too so we gots to all come over there and make sure that you understand what you’re doing wrong.”
According to Cole, “Ride” was not only inspired by Tupac, but by Tyga, who co-wrote it. “He was like, ‘I got an idea for you. I want to write this record for you but I need you to tell me what you’re going through, what you’re experiencing,'” she said. “So [with] him and his brother, I was hashing it out, talking shit. We came up with ‘Ride.’ We went away, did the second verse, then Kamaiyah jumped on it. Then Wiz Khalifa jumped on it. Then Chris Brown was gonna jump on it. It was a whole thing.”
The song is expected to appear on 11:11 Reset, even if it’s one of the earliest tracks recorded for the project. “It’s one of the oldest songs on the album, but I still love it and still get hype when I hear it,” she added. “We still have Wiz’s verse. Chris never did his verse. But Kamaiyah, we’re gonna have her on the original. We definitely have Wiz in the vault for that if we got to that point with the remix.”
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Additionally, Young Thug guests on “Act Right.” “It’s a sexy record and I typically don’t really do sexy records,” said Cole. “I think it would be dope if we shot [the video in] Hawaii or the Bahamas or something really, really fly, beautiful, nice, and serene, blowing in the wind. It’s hot.”
Although it may seem like an odd pairing, it was actually Thugger’s verse on Usher’s “No Limit” that inspired her to reach out to Jeffery. “Young Thug’s sound is really unique,” she said. “I can’t get into the gangster stuff but I definitely do like his sound and melodies and he gets certain sounds, notes, and things like that. I heard the song with him and Usher. I was like, ‘That would be something I would do.’ For him to be a rapper and get that, it’s pretty awesome.”
11:11 Reset has already spawned the Remy Ma and French Montana-assisted “You,” which dropped back in January. At around the same time, Cole spoke with Rap-Up about the forthcoming album’s mission. “For the past year, I’ve been seeing 11:11 constantly and to my understanding, you’re aligned spiritually with your destiny and everything that is meant to be in your life is happening at the right time,” she said. “The timing is right. Everything is right. Reset is definitely cohesive with that.”