London
by Bia (featuring J. Cole)

Album: Really Her (2022)
Charted: 62
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Here, Bia raps about shopping for designer items in England's capital city.

    I'm in London, I like go and shop at the mall
    Shop at the Prada, shop at the store
    Shop in the tropics, shop at Dior
    Louis Vuitton cover my toes


    Bia impresses the guys in her designer purchases, so she takes advantage of their interest.

    Man's outside in Crocs in shambles
    Please quick talk, no ramble
    Soon as they send their bread, I cancel


    Bread is cockney rhyming slang for money. ("bread and honey" = "money").

    Mia also slips in more of the London slang that she's picked up while on the other side of the pond.

    He never met no one like me
    It's pretty funny how now they all like me, innit?


    Londoners use the all-purpose tag question innit (a shortened form of isn't it), when they're expecting you to agree and say "Yes."
  • J. Cole enters halfway with a rapid-fire verse where he makes some UK references of his own. They include name dropping the London locations Heathrow Airport and the O2 Arena.
  • Cole originally asked Bia to come by his studio to work on a different song, but the "Whole Lotta Money" rapper played him "London," which blew him away and he couldn't stop thinking about her tune. When Bia hit Cole up to appear on it a month later, he approached his verse with some trepidation. "I was excited but genuinely nervous cuz I didn't even see how the song could be better after what she did to it," Cole wrote on Instagram. "I didn't want to f--- nothing up! I'm grateful I ended up catching the right wave."
  • Jon Glass and AzizTheShake supplied the beat. LA producer and rapper AzizTheShake worked on four out of eight tracks on Bia's 2020 For Certain EP.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Max Cavalera of Soulfly (ex-Sepultura)

Max Cavalera of Soulfly (ex-Sepultura)Songwriter Interviews

The Brazilian rocker sees pictures in his riffs. When he came up with one of his gnarliest songs, there was a riot going on.

History Of Rock

History Of RockSong Writing

An interview with Dr. John Covach, music professor at the University of Rochester whose free online courses have become wildly popular.

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17Songwriter Interviews

Martyn talks about producing Tina Turner, some Heaven 17 hits, and his work with the British Electric Foundation.

Michael W. Smith

Michael W. SmithSongwriter Interviews

Smith breaks down some of his worship tracks as well as his mainstream hits, including "I Will Be Here For You" and "A Place In This World."

British Invasion

British InvasionFact or Fiction

Go beyond The Beatles to see what you know about the British Invasion.

Jethro Tull

Jethro TullFact or Fiction

Stage urinals, flute devices, and the real Aqualung in this Fact or Fiction.