Sauce Money Talks Ghostwriting: Artists "Draw Inspiration From Everything and Everybody"

Sauce Money, once listed as a co-writer on Diddy's "I'll Be Missing You," drops some knowledge on the practice of ghostwriting.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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In the wake of Drake's exclusives-laden second episode of his Beats 1 radio show OVO SOUND, the world slept very little Saturday evening. The subtle Meek Mill response track "Charged Up" earned its title, effectively energizing Drizzy's audience and — slightly uneventfully — Meek Mill himself. Though we've already told you that ghostwriting is simply not a scandalous concept, and far from indicative of some supposed lack of talent, many cling to the outmoded idea of the artist as a singular figure — immune to collaboration, input, or the ability to absorb inspiration from everyone around him or her.

Shortly after the largely Twitter-based debate reached the first of many fever pitches, former Diddy collaborator Sauce Money expressed his thoughts on Drake and the practice of ghostwriting at large. Sauce's thoughts are predictably progressive, pointing to inspiration as something not easily defined — and certainly not limited to the thoughts or intuitions of a singular person:

Sauce Money is often considered the creative force behind Diddy's 1997 Notorious B.I.G. memorial track "I'll Be Missing You." In a 2014 interview with BBC, Sauce discussed the process behind the classic track — commending Diddy for reaching out after deciding he simply couldn't express his feelings on B.I.G.'s death without help. "He was blown away because it was everything he wanted to say," Sauce told BBC. "It's almost like being an actor. I became him, and once I became him I knew what he would want to say to B.I.G. in remembrance."

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