Don't Play This Song

Album: Man On The Moon 2: The Legend Of Mr Rager (2010)
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Songfacts®:

  • This anthemic, slow-moving track is from Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager, the second album by American rapper Kid Cudi. Mary J. Blige provides guest vocals on the song.
  • The genesis of this collaboration was an accidental meeting between the two stars on a flight to New York, when they discussed working together. Cudi told MTV News that he was surprised the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul was open to working with him and found a record he thought she would fit. "She liked it, but she asked to hear other stuff," Cudi recalled. "I was immediately standoffish. I was like, 'Man, I don't want to play all of these other songs, me talking about cocaine and wilin' out and stuff. I don't want to disrespect Mary, and I know these topics are really intense, and the song I wanted her on was an upbeat, 'Family Affair,' happy. It's a completely different vibe, and I just didn't know how she would respond.

    I played her 'Don't Play This Song,' and she was like, 'I want to get on that.' I was like, 'You can get on anything you want.'"

    According to Cudi, Blige stepped into the booth and nailed her vocals in one take.

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