Akon shared the story of Eminem collaboration “Smack That”.
Akon recently sat down with Vlad Tv for an interview where Vlad talks about Akon’s iconic second album ‘Konvicted‘ which had Eminem collaboration “Smack That“ which is Akon’s biggest song on Spotify. Eminem’s collaboration with Akon, which was recently restored, has reached another milestone. The video has received over 750 million views since its release in December 2009.
Eminem wrote, produced, and programmed “Smack That,” with contributions from Akon, Mike Strange, and Luis Resto. Strange and Resto both contributed to the track’s keyboards. Strange recorded the song with Tony Compana at 54 Sound in Detroit, Michigan, where Strange also mixed the song with Eminem. “Smack That” is an exuberant R&B and hip hop song characterised as “a true summer party hit.”
Akon met Eminem in 2006 while recording Snitch with rapper Obie Trice, who was a Shady Records signee at the time, and the two became close friends. Akon wanted him to go on “Smack That,” but he was aware of Eminem’s comments about being on too many tracks. Akon travelled to Detroit after receiving a call from the rapper indicating that he was ready to go. Akon noted that working with Eminem was “no different from working with any of the other musicians, really.”
On September 26, 2006, Konvicted’s debut single, “Smack That,” was released. The song debuted at number one on ten record charts and reached the top ten on nine others, including the Billboard Hot 100, where it reached number two. It was certified gold and platinum on numerous occasions, and over three million downloads were sold in the United States. The song was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.
Vlad asked Akon how he collaborated with Eminem. Akon gave humorous stories about how Eminem works in the studio, which is virtually a 9-5 job when detailing how ‘Smack That’ was born. He reveals that Em arrives at the studio around 9 a.m., takes an hour-long lunch break in the middle, and leaves at 5 p.m., regardless of the song’s development.
“Oh man that one, I wouldn’t have found Em,” says Akon. “So Em was always one of my favorite rappers back then, especially I just did the record with Snoop ‘I Want To Love You. Then I was like man I was able to conquer Snoop, Now I gotta get em. Back then he wasn’t doing features at all, That’s why I said it was a shot in the Dark. So I just said let me just go to Detroit, I’m just gonna go there. So I booked a ticket and flew out there and when I flew out there I was out there hanging the strip club and I’m just asking questions. Then I run this one guy, he said we heard you looking for Em, I said yeah I’ve been trying to get a hold of him man, I ain’t got no line on him right now. He said well sh*t, Obie’s my man, so he called over, to come to meet me at the strip club man. Man Obie hanging out we hang out for like two days. ”
The music video for the song is a short-clip recreation of the film 48 Hrs. It is directed by Benny Boom and stars Akon as a prisoner who is let free by a police officer, Jack Gates (Eric Roberts), who is looking for a witness. Akon is given 24 hours to do anything he wants as long as he finds the female witness. He is given a photograph of her and follows a tip that the witness is in a nightclub. While inside the club, Akon runs across fellow rapper and buddy Eminem.
At the 2007 MTV Video Song Awards, the music video was up for Best Earthshattering Collaboration and Male Artist of the Year. The video was nominated for three 2007 MTV Australia Video Music Awards categories: Best Male Artist, Best Hip Hop Video, and Best Hook-Up.
Akon continues, “Then he says I’m gonna take you to the studio so you can meet Em, I was like ni**a perfect. So Obie takes me to the studio, I and Em connect instantly. He planned me beats and everything. At the time I already had the song that I wanted to do with him already I had it set up. I never even got to play him that song. So he was playing me all these beats and then he just pulled the beat, I was like damn.”
“that was that beat?” asks Vlad.
“Ni**a Em produced that track,” said Akon. “so when I heard that I was like of look at this sh*t about to be crazy, So off the top I just go in the booth and started freestyling harmonies. By the time I get out the booth, Em had already left, I was like where the hell does ni**a go. So I said f**k it, I’m gonna finish the song and let him hear when he get back tomorrow and he can lay his verse to it. The next day, It was about 1 Pm, by the time I got there the song was already laid. Eminem came at Eight o’clock that morning laid his verse and left for lunch so I got there around Lunch break he hadn’t already come so when he came back and said you want to hear it, I said hell yeah. He plays it for me I go Crazy.”
Also, Checkout: Akon Shares A Hilarious Story About How Eminem Works in the Studio.
“I was like ni**a where were you at, he said I went to lunch. I said ni**a you ain’t just order here, he said Nah man I treat this sh*t like a real nine to five. He said I come in early nine o’clock, I leave at five o’clock on the dot every day. I do it I take a lunch break and I come back to five O’clock I’m home. He said I treat this like a real job and I thought about this sh*t I was like damn That’s smart. It was him that made me start saying okay I need to start scheduling it. Nine to five was a little too early for me but I had my schedules like I don’t do late night studios anymore I just do them during the day and I’m out before midnight.”
Watch the full thing below.
