Latto Speaks On Her New Album '777,' Collaborating With Mariah Carey

Atlanta bred artist Latto has certainly climbed the ranks since joining the fierce crowd of female hip hop entertainers. She had a number of EPs released in 2010 and, by 2019, made herself known with her breakout single, "B---h from da Souf." Her debut album, "Queen of da Souf," was released the next year.

The artist popped back up recently with a name change and a total revamp of her sound. Her sophomore album, "777," was just released and had a mix of genres. According to Latto, her hit single, "Big Energy," gave the album a pop sound while other genres like R&B, rap trap, and a few more were involved.

The artist featured several A-list musicians on "777," but one was particularly shocking. Music veteran and all-round diva, Mariah Carey, was featured in the remix of "Big Energy." When talking about her time with the superstar, Latto revealed that working with her was a dream and an uplifting experience.

Latto just released her sophomore album "777," which featured artists like Lil Wayne, Childish Gambino, 21 Savage, and others. She recently appeared in an interview on Variety to talk about her time recording the 13 track album.

In the year and a half she recorded the album, the artist said she saw herself as her own competition. The entire process was a "me vs me" situation for her. "I was my own competition when I was recording every day for the past year and a half, making this album," she said.

The "Big Energy" singer continued, "It kind of turned into me vs me because I was making these fire songs that couldn't have just any song come after it on the tracklist. It was definitely a challenging process, but I feel like I remained authentic."

One feature on Latto's album no one expected was Carey. The "Hero" artist was featured in the hit single "Big Energy." The song was released on Monday and is currently on a fast pace to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

The song apparently has elements of a crossover because it sampled "Genius of Love" by Tom Tom Love which Carey's 1995 hit single "Fantasy" also did. The hip-hop artist apparently referenced Carey's song in "Big Energy" to pay homage.

The line that reads, "Bad b**h, I can be your fantasy/I can tell you got big d** energy," directly references Carey's song. When the veteran singer hopped on the remix, she put a twist on the piece with her signature whistle tones then sang her iconic chorus on "Fantasy."

Via Variety, Latto talked about her time working with Carey, referring to the entire process as a dream. The artist said Carey was an "uplifting spirit," and she was grateful for the experience. "She's such an uplifting spirit," Latto said. "I'm grateful for the remix and for her vocals — Mariah's a legend— but I'm grateful for the experience that she gave me with this song and all words of advice."

When talking about the "Without You" singer's impression on her, Latto revealed that Carey's work ethic was "crazy." "Really, her work ethic. She works like crazy. She was just saying how hard she had to work to [get] where she got, being in a generation where there wasn't a lot of biracial females [in music] at the time and all of her hardships coming up."

Latto said she felt similarly in not feeling "white enough" or "black enough" at certain times. She added that the two traded some personal experiences, and she was entirely appreciative of Carey's impact on her. She added, "This lady is so genuine and a very, very humble spirit."

Besides Carey and her absolute star power, Latto featured a lot of other A-list rappers on her album. She had songs with artists like Lil Wayne, Lil Durk, 21 Savage, Childish Gambino, Kodak Black, and Nardo Wick. Latto also had big-name entertainers, including Pharrell Williams, produce some of her songs like "Real One."

Her "Sunshine" track had Childish Gambino and Lil Wayne featured. While recording, the artist revealed that she had a "very nostalgic vibe." Latto revealed that her reason for featuring the artists on that song was to emphasize and expand that vibe and boost the track from "a seven to a ten."

She said, "I definitely had to Gun for some GOATs with that song, but [it was] another one of those instances where I'm just shooting for the stars preparing myself for a no or a pass." Latto admitted that she was elated when not one but both rappers agreed to be part of the track and produced exactly what she initially had in mind for the song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8GpG8C0YzA