Bobby Shmurda took to Twitter this weekend to inspire others to chase their dreams, revealing that his 2014 breakout hit “Hot N***a,” which peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, was recorded during a one-hour studio session that cost only $20.
“Too many people got a DREAM that they never chased, then go through life and be angry they never tried,” the Brooklyn rapper wrote. “Let me remind y’all ‘Hot N***a’ took $20 for 1 hour of studio time in the hood to create and that 1 hour of FOCUS changed my life and everyone around me FORVER #shmurda.”
The rapper’s breakout hit took the world by storm when it seemingly came out of nowhere. “[Bobby Shmurda] ended up doing the record and…it just blew up, man,” producer Jahlil Beats told DJBooth in 2018. “The crazy thing about it is, I found out last. I didn’t know who he was at all. I saw people tagging me in it, in the video where he’s throwing the hat up and all that. And then my cousin sent me a tweet from Kevin Durant where he’s talking about it. That was when I knew it was big.”
Jahlil produced the beat for Lloyd Banks’ “Jackpot,” which ultimately became the backbone for Shmurda’s hit.
“I found [Bobby Shmurda] on Instagram and I reached out to him,” Jahlil continued. “He was like, ‘Listen man, I’m just trying to get out of the streets. Can you give me your blessing?’ I was like, ‘Yeah! Rock out with it.’ Sha Money XL reached out to me as well and was like, ‘I’m about to sign this kid, let me know what’s up.’ Sha Money cut me a nice check for that record and the ‘Shmoney Dance’ record.”
The tweet arrives just a couple weeks after Shmurda revealed he doesn’t have any control over when his upcoming project will drop, and that his label is getting in the way.
“I ain’t been in charge of my music since I was 19 years old and I jus turned 27 and honestly idk when shit dropping so don’t ask me shit go ask them mf’s since they wanna control everything!” he wrote on Instagram.
Back in September, Shmurda dropped “No Time for Sleep,” his first official solo release since coming home from prison in February, and his first offering as a lead artist in seven years. Since then, Shmurda has dropped two more songs, “Cartier Lens” and “Splash.”
