“Hey.” “Oh, hi.” “How’s it going?” “Why do you got this old professional background?” “Why do you have this professional hair?” “O.K. I look like this everyday, bitch. Singing: “Mirror, mirror on the wall, don’t say it ’cause I know I’m cute. Ooh, baby. Louis down to my drawers, LV all on my shoes. Ooh, baby. I be drippin’ so much sauce, gotta been lookin’ like Ragu. Lit up like a crystal ball. That’s cool, baby. So is you.” “Hello. Snowed in, so let’s go. ‘Empire State of Mind.’ [flute music] My story begins in Houston, Tex. I was a flute player and went to college for music performance. [flute music] “I was really excited about writing. I would write raps.” Rapping: “Ain’t got no time for the C-3P0, wookie. Looky here. Three cheers for the woman of the year — me!” “When did Lizzo Lizzo sort of crystalize?” “I wrote a song called ‘My Skin.’” Singing: “I woke up in this. I woke up in this, in my skin.” “And people were just so shocked that, you know, in 2014, this big black girl was saying, I’m in love with myself. I love my skin. I was like, why is this such a shocker to y’all? I’m going to just talk about this [expletive] all the time until you get used to it.” “Tell me about meeting Lizzo and what was your first impression of her?” “Honestly, my first impression was, yo, this big girl don’t give a [expletive], bro. She hard! She hard, bro.” “Bitch!” [flute music] “I was just drawn to her — you know, her — I don’t know what the word is.” [flute music] “Do you remember what the studio was like on the day you guys started ‘Juice’?” “We had made a lot of demos. We had made a lot of songs. And I was getting a little tired.” “I remember, she was like — “ “Ricky, I want you to play a song that is a [expletive] undeniable hit. And he was like, all right, I think this is it. We were like, bah! And it was just the part. It was the — with the drums.” [imitates music] “I was so specifically trying to, like, find the Prince-Bowie etc., like, thing.” “It made me want to dance. It made me feel like, yo, this has a throwback feel, but they definitely made it in 2019.” “The way he works is, he’ll just kind of sit there for a while.” “I’m just sitting in a chair, laid back. And the mic is, like, literally right here. And I said, ‘Mirror, mirror, on the wall, don’t say it ‘cause I know I’m cute. Ooh, baby.” “I thought that was really cute and cool. But I was like, you know, keep going.” “I said, I woke up like this. I ain’t even got to try. She was like — she was like, man, somebody said that already.” Singing: “I woke up like this.” “But it’s not just about waking up pretty. What do we really mean underneath that? I was born like this.” “And I was like, that’s even [expletive] better.” “I was born like this means I love me for me, no matter what makeup I have on, what weave I have on, whether I got my lash extensions on or not.” “I was like, I think we need a word. What’s the word? The word that — you know, we was like, yo, juice.” “I think juice is kind of freaky. I think juice is kind of spiritual and special. I think — I think it’s black [expletive]. [laughs] “All right.” “We recorded the demo. And then when we started working on it with Lizzo, I always work on the key with the artists to get the sweet spot, vocally.” “She went straight in the booth and started recording it. And as soon as I heard her sing — ” Singing: “Mirror, mirror on the wall, don’t say it, ’cause I know I’m cute.” “I was like, oh, [expletive], we out of here. This [expletive] is hard as [expletive]. This [expletive] is hard as [expletive].” “Sometimes, when I’m in a session, and an artist sings one line, I can’t help but jump on the talkback and be like, this is going to be crazy!” Singing: “I’m like chardonnay, get better over time. Heard you say I’m not the baddest bitch, you lie.” “I laugh in the track and I laugh live. I just think that [expletive] is funny. I be like, bitch, you’re lying.” Singing: “Ain’t my fault that I’m out here gettin’ loose. Gotta blame it on the goose. Gotta blame it on my juice, baby.” “I texted Ricky, like, after I was done recording. I just texted him, ‘emotional,’ because it was. The song was really, really simple before. And Ricky spent a lot of time being a muso on it and beefed it up.” “So, this is sort of the control room. Here are some toys, mostly synthesizers, early ’70s, early ’80s. We have basically two horn parts.” “I will say I’m a very horny artist. [laughs] “As it went on, there’s, like, some real kind of, like, ’80s electro. [singing] “You have this kind of magic thing that happens. It’s almost, like, 2019, like, vintage sounds, which is just, like, pitch-shifting something to death, and then it sounds, like, warbly and [expletive] up. Oh, I totally forgot. One of the most important keyboard parts, that Lizzo actually came up with — ” “Tell me about the decision to get Lizzo’s friends to come in and record backup.” “Oh, man. That was amazing. I think the first person that threw that up was Theron.” “We needed some gang vocals, you know? I wanted, like, a group of girls in there.” “And I was like, even better, I can get my girls in here.” “I was like, hell [expletive] yeah. That’s what I need. So like, three or four of her best friends came to the studio, and they were just in the booth, like lit.” Singing: “That’s how I roll. If I’m shining, everybody gonna shine. Yeah, I’m gold. I was born like this. Don’t even gotta try. Now you know. I’m like chardonnay, get better over time. So, you know.” “This was a case where it was like, this is bananas, like, how much it was adding.” “It’s the little details like that that make a song from a good song to a magical moment.” Singing: “It ain’t my fault that I’m out here gettin’ loose. Gotta blame it on the goose. Gotta blame it on my juice, baby. It ain’t my fault that I’m out here making news. I’m the pudding in the proof. Gotta blame it on my juice.” “You know what it felt like? It felt like fun. I just kept saying, whatever we do, I want people to hear it, and I want people to smile.” “It honestly just feels so, so super joyful, listening to it back.” Singing: “It ain’t my fault that I’m out here gettin’ — I love this song. It’s like, I can’t not sing the whole thing.” “What were your, like, high school bus bars like?” “Oh, my God. It was always: Man, what’s the deal? Man, I’m coming through. Coming down chilly, banging on a screw. It’s your girl, Lizzo.” [laughs]