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Gunna walks Billboard through his chart history—breaking down the stories behind hits like “Drip Too Hard,” “pushin P,” “Space Cadet,” and more.In this Chart History episode, Gunna explains his creative process, key collaborations, and how certain moments turned into global catchphrases.

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Music
Transcript
00:00This Gunna, and this is My Chart History.
00:16The Fuck You Mean is a fun song, it's energy, good vibes, Miami.
00:22So how we came up with the song, we was at Airbnb in the studio room.
00:28Me, Nietzsche, P. Liddy, Flo.
00:32I know for sure that I heard Don't Rock.
00:35It was also just a bunch of beautiful women in the room, just vibes, and the beat playing.
00:41And I remember P. Liddy like, yeah, she really just saying, yeah.
00:47She from Morocco, but she done lived in Paris.
00:49So she got a French accent that just was different, right?
00:54And then I'm like, man, just, you need to just record, say this, just record it one time.
01:00I duplicated it all the way through the song.
01:03I might have said, Fuck You Mean, and Nietzsche's like, man, you need to say, Fuck You Mean with like,
01:07everybody in the room.
01:09The whole room, like, Fuck You Mean.
01:10That's why it sounds like a lot of people when you hear, Fuck You Mean, because there was a lot
01:15of people in the room.
01:18How I make a song, I freestyle and just kind of just like dissect it.
01:23But it started off with my feelings of like, just how I'm feeling today.
01:41It just happened, like, you know, just kind of put me and Don Toliver together.
01:47And we sound great together.
01:48At the time we did Jimmy Fallon, we couldn't really go to Jimmy Fallon because of the COVID and everything
01:54going on.
01:55So we had to do it off site.
01:56And me, Don Toliver now, we all came and just gave it more life, more energy to just see the
02:02connection of all of us.
02:03Just, you know, being collaborative.
02:05It's a good song to this day.
02:18For that song, it was like a no brainer.
02:22Like, I didn't even have to like, think of how the approach was going to really be.
02:27You know what I'm saying?
02:27I just came, me.
02:28That was a time when we, me and Baby, we was doing Drip Harder.
02:32We kind of just bouncing off each other.
02:34We doing songs.
02:36We just, we just trying to finish this album.
02:39Turbo made this beat.
02:40Baby started on this motherfucker.
02:42And then like, once I heard it, it was just like, let me do my part.
02:47I feel like just us alone, just like coming up, two artists from Atlanta, like young, youth, and we giving
02:53it up hard.
02:55It just took the song to the moon.
02:57It was already written.
02:58Just the whole song of just us together.
03:00It was a good combination.
03:02Good collaboration.
03:03Just too hard.
03:04Charge to the card.
03:06Resonance to the ground.
03:06I can balance better names.
03:11Hopper P.
03:12I'm paranoid.
03:13I keep sleeping.
03:14I keep sleeping.
03:15I keep deep.
03:15I rest on me.
03:16Why they watching me?
03:17I'm pushing P.
03:18Well, the Pusher P I know of that I was, that I was, you know what I'm saying, still pushing.
03:22It just came from like Atlanta culture of us being some players and just pushing just like positivity, just good
03:29vibes.
03:30It's all like, they could form one of these P.
03:33What's P?
03:34And like, at the time you can remember like, I kind of like gave you a brief of, you know,
03:39bossing up your lady's P.
03:41Looking out for your people's P.
03:43I was just, you know, just trying to let people know what all could be, you know, pushing P.
03:48Me, Slime, Pluto, it was already like culture in Atlanta of us pushing P.
03:53So when we did a song, it was just like a no brainer to like the world, I feel, because
03:59it was like, we've been kind of like pushing this like culturally.
04:02Like you said, it was already a slang or whatever that we was already doing anyway.
04:08But when it came to a song, it was like, oh yeah, we pushing P.
04:11Now you got Nike pushing P.
04:13You got IHOP pushing P.
04:14You got Kim K pushing P.
04:16She Kim P at the time.
04:17Me and Pluto started the song in Miami.
04:20Slime one day, yeah, I brought the song back to Atlanta.
04:25And I just knew he needed to be on the last verse.
04:27That's really how we did the song.
04:42I did that song maybe like three in the morning, four in the morning.
04:46It's late.
04:47Maybe later than that.
04:48I know I just remember being late and tired.
04:51To pull my own stunts.
04:53We had firemen on hand and stuff because it's serious, you know, and I had to have layers.
04:57Layers of clothing on.
04:59So it was all like layers to doing it.
05:02We had to get a lot of permits, stuff like that.
05:04But we got it done.
05:06If it could be done, try it.
05:07Why not?
05:08Especially if it makes sense.
05:09It's for a greater cause.
05:10It's for the music video.
05:26I never have like a particular approach to like what song I'm gonna make for a woman today.
05:32That day I didn't, I didn't think I was going to the studio to make a Hoogie and Fuck song
05:38tonight.
05:38The vibe that night, it was, it was intentional when I, when I started reading the room.
05:45And I'm like, okay, we, we got a couple of vibes in here, you know, regular casual night.
05:50And then I got a, it's, it's a girl that I just, I just remember her leaving the room and
05:56she was just gone for a minute.
05:59And then I put two and two together.
06:02And then I just started writing the song.
06:04I'm like, who getting fucked tonight?
06:06Oh, she getting fucked tonight.
06:08I just was in a strip club when they were playing this song.
06:11In Atlanta.
06:12Magic.
06:13Magic.
06:14Yeah.
06:30It's great working with Chris first of all, creative genius.
06:35But with this particular song, he had made the song and he reached out, him, Hoody, they called me like,
06:42yo, I got one for you.
06:43I need you to get this done though ASAP.
06:46And at the time I remember like, my voice was like gone.
06:50But like, you can't, you ain't finna tell CB no right here in this gap.
06:54Like, but you gotta, you better record, knock it out.
06:56I was at my condo or probably my town house in Atlanta at the time.
07:01And I recorded the verse, sent it back to him.
07:05He, I'm like, bro, my voice gone.
07:06If you just need me to touch it up, let me know.
07:08He's like, nah, bro, you good.
07:09You sound A1 on here.
07:11He's like, and I'm about to touch it up.
07:12I'm going to have my engineer, he touch you up, you going to be good.
07:15Which he did.
07:16And it was good.
07:17Shit, he wanted to shoot the video like quick.
07:20He didn't want to waste no time.
07:21And that shit was legendary.
07:23We both really like some ladies, man.
07:25So it was just creative for us to even get on a song together.
07:28Like, you know, he did the remix of Who Can Fuck Tonight.
07:31It was just like, this was a, it was made for him.
07:34It's like one of them ones.
07:35You know you're going to get on here and talk your shit.
07:37So it's legendary when we work every time.
07:40It's stylish women around me right now as we speak.
07:44Like, I feel like that's the aesthetic of us, you know what I'm saying?
07:47And it's, and we're going to feed off of that.
07:50Whether it's high fashion or it's vintage fashion.
07:54It's just all fashion.
07:55Because, you know, it don't got to be like, expensive to be fly.
08:14I think we kind of just fed off like the energy and the lyrics of the song.
08:19Me and Spike, even in the song, it's just like, I'm letting you know.
08:24Like, they set me down when I was out of space.
08:26Like, this is me coming off of 2022.
08:29I was just out of space.
08:30I was just pushing P.
08:31I can go to Jupiter whenever I want.
08:33You know what I mean?
08:34But now I got to go back to the moon.
08:37You know what I'm saying?
08:37And that was the energy for the video.
08:40Just like, me versus me.
08:42Me talking to me.
08:43Like, me getting it off of my chest for me to get back to the moon.
08:47To just let the world know, like, boy, I'm still here.
08:51I'm going all the way up again.
08:53If you had an opportunity like SpaceX to do outer space travel, what would you do?
08:59I probably would.
09:00Yeah, if it made, like, once I know, like, the dynamics of me getting back, I'd go.
09:07They set me down like I went out of space.
09:09Now I got to go back to the moon.
09:20It was a different, like, beat.
09:22Like, it was a Metro production in that.
09:26And I feel like he's a great producer.
09:28And he always could just go, like, to the highest of the high.
09:33It could be with any artist.
09:34It doesn't have to be, like, the highest of the high artists either.
09:38He can, like, mesh those two, like, very, very well.
09:42And I feel like that's kind of like what that was right there when we did that.
09:45Because he already had the beat ready.
09:48All I had to do was just come in there and just do what I do.
09:51He knowin' me as an artist.
09:52He knowin' like, all right, this beat right here is for gonna.
09:56He gonna do exactly what I need him to do so now I can finish it and touch it.
09:59And that's what Metro do that was productive the right way.
10:02It was like a feed out of the video and Metro just took it to the next level.
10:06Like, and his whole thing was from the song.
10:09Like, the Space Cadet song.
10:10He took that and brought Space Cadet to, like, real life.
10:14You know what I'm sayin'?
10:15And I even feel like that's what he did when we did Jimmy Fallon.
10:19He painted the picture the right way and delivered.
10:22I met him through, like, Atlanta, of course.
10:26But, like, I don't, I can't remember the exact date or, like, timing of, like, when or how we really,
10:33like, met.
10:34But we met through, for sure, for sure, through Thug, 100%.
10:38But, like, I didn't just meet them together.
10:41You know what I mean?
10:42I just remember meeting Metro on my own.
10:58At the time me recording this song, it was just, like, a dark space for me.
11:06And also just, like, at a time where, like, there was a lot of noise.
11:10Just a lot, a lot, a lot of noise that I had to, like, silence, right?
11:16In the midst of all of that, I'm just still creating, doing music, you know?
11:20And I'm writing songs, and I told you I write music, like, how I feel.
11:24Going all out about my bread and butter is, like, that's a forever.
11:28Like, I'm gonna do that.
11:30You know what I'm saying?
11:31And I feel like at the time, life and career on the line of, like, me just being, being able
11:36to continue as an artist.
11:38You know what I'm saying?
11:38So it's, like, that's, it's that type of energy.
11:41Like, ain't nah, like, back against the wall.
11:43I recorded that song in that house that I shot the video in.
11:48So it was like, you do a song.
11:51I, my, my peers, my support system, me, I hear this song.
11:54We in this house together.
11:56Let's just shoot it.
11:57Like, we all felt that song in that moment in time of it to be my first release off of
12:03being released.
12:04I still felt dark, no relief.
12:07A song was out, and it was trending.
12:10So I was just like, you know, like, this, I do do music.
12:13I am an artist.
12:14So this is what I gotta continue to do.
12:33Me resonating with athletes, like, do fitness, I go to the gym and work out.
12:37And now, like, I'm so invested into my health.
12:41I do things that athletes have to do to, you know, keep, to stay conditioned or push to the next
12:46level.
12:47That's how I'm already just, like, can relate to an athlete now.
12:52A young athlete or an older athlete, whether he's all the way pro or AAU.
12:57The one-on-one is just, like, it's me.
13:02Like, I'm one-on-one.
13:03Like, I can do a lot.
13:04I can tap into fitness and health and wellness and tap into fashion.
13:08This was just, like, a no-brand to me to kind of, like, highlight that.
13:13I went to the OTE and just kind of, like, locked in with them.
13:16It was cool.
13:17It was a great experience.
13:18A lot of different players, like, that done reached out or just been always supporting me on it.
13:23And then Jeff Jefferson, KD, LeBron James, Carmella Anthony, Paul Pierce, Patrick Mahone, Trey Young.
13:47I'm always in Los Angeles.
13:49It wasn't, like, the girl is from Los Angeles.
13:53But, like, she likes L.A.
13:55She just was with me at the time.
13:57Like, this video was kind of, like, organic video where it was, like, oh, she with you?
14:04All right.
14:04She cool?
14:05Like, it's good?
14:06All right, let's shoot.
14:07And, like, we know we're shooting a video.
14:09You know there's beautiful women out there in Houston.
14:12So that's another place, like, that I already traveled to.
14:15And it was just, like, you know, we out here?
14:18Let's get something.
14:19You know what I'm saying?
14:19It really wasn't, like, let's fly to Houston and get this clip.
14:23Let's fly to L.A. and get this clip.
14:24Let's fly to New York and get this clip.
14:26It wasn't that.
14:28It's like, all right, we in New York.
14:29Oh, is she cool?
14:30All right, let's cool.
14:31Let's shoot it.
14:31That's why I was directed by me.
14:34Because I'm telling him, like, all right, this is a good time to shoot.
14:37This song was just kind of, like, trendy.
14:40It had started doing, like, a little trend to it.
14:43Like, anybody just grabbing any type of item and, like, she banking on me.
14:48I spank her.
14:48She love to get spanked.
14:49And I even did it, too.
14:51I had a hookah pole.
14:53And, like, I gave her a good spanking.
14:55It went viral.
14:57I had probably just put DS4 out, I believe.
14:59And then, like, I was like, damn, I forgot to give him this.
15:03Let me give him this now.
15:04For Valentine's Day, I put it up.
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