The lead single from DJ Khaled's Grateful album features superstar couple Beyoncé and Jay Z. The track came together at the last minute, with the trio laying it down the night before the 2017 Grammy Awards. It was released immediately after the show on February 12, 2017.
This represents the first time the Carter couple have worked together since "
Drunk In Love" from Beyoncé's 2013 self-titled album.
"Shining" represents the first time DJ Khaled and Beyoncé joined forces. It is however the fourth collaboration between Jay and Khaled. They first worked together on the official remix of Hova's "
Brooklyn (Go Hard)" in 2008. Since then they partnered on Khaled's 2014 "
They Don't Love You No More," and 2016 "
I Got The Keys."
"I worked my whole life for this one," Khaled declares at the beginning of the upbeat hip-hop track before Beyoncé takes over. Mrs. Carter is in full-on victory mode, boasting, "All of this winnin', I been losin' my mind," tying in nicely with Khaled's prosperous mantras.
Jay comes in later with his first verse since his and Bey's twin announcement. Hova can't help rapping about the happy news, as he declares, "One ain't enough, I need two."
Jay also appears to be throwing some shade at Drake.
I know you ain't out here talkin' Summers, right?
I know you ain't walkin' 'round talkin' down
Sayin' boss s--t when you a runner, right?The two superstar rappers have been involved in an ongoing beef over the years. It seems Jay is responding to Drake referencing him on "
Summer Sixteen" where he rhymed: "I used to wanna be on Roc-A-Fella then I turned into Jay."
-
The song samples vocals from Osunlade's 2013 track "Dionne" during the intro, bridge and outro.
The song's artwork features Khaled's newborn son Asahd Tuck Khaled. His father used Asahd's reactions to the sounds to gauge the quality of songs for Grateful (the baby vomiting indicated best quality), and then had the baby boy legally declared the album's executive producer.
Khaled was unsure at the beginning if either of the Carters would record the tune. He first debuted the instrumental to Jay-Z shortly after they had just wrapped work on "I Got the Keys." "I'm like, 'Let me play it for you,'" he recalled to XXL magazine, "and the first 20, 30 seconds he was bopping his head and I seen (sic) him already rhyming in his head."
"After I played him the record I was like, 'Yo, I know the answer is no, but if you want to play this for your wife... man, that would be dope! But I know the answer is no.'"
It wasn't until Beyoncé told Khaled how much she loved the beat at Jay Z's Roc Nation label Christmas party in December 2016 that the DJ thought "Shining" might come together.
A few weeks later Khaled received the completed tune from Jay. "What happened was, the night before the Grammys, Jay Z hit me up and said, 'Record done,'" he explained. "Meanwhile, I'm wondering whether they even gonna record it (sic)!"