You Already Know
by Fergie (featuring Nicki Minaj)

Album: Double Dutchess (2017)
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Songfacts®:

  • This song finds Fergie returning to her 2000s brand of rap-singing as she spits cocky, rapid-fire verses. She is joined by Nicki Minaj, who sends some subliminal shots at her haters. Fergie told Entertainment Weekly:

    "This is about us standing together as Girl Bosses. We have both worked very hard for what we have, and still continue to do so. I'm a fighter! And so is she! We have the same goal. I'm all about women not being pitted against each other. I'm about, 'Let's stand strong.'"
  • The upbeat rap song was produced by Fergie's Black Eye Peas-mate will.i.am. He samples "It Takes Two" by Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock, which in turn borrows from the Lyn Collins 1972 song "Think (About It)."

    "It Takes Two" has been frequently sampled and will.i.am previously borrowed from the tune for the Black Eyed Peas' 2010 hit single "Rock That Body."
  • Fergie first teased the track in a radio interview in late 2014 and the original version was recorded before Nicki Minaj parted ways with fellow rapper Meek Mill. A leaked version featured the Queens MC spitting the line, "Damn, I ain't seen Meek Mill-y in a week." By the time Fergie released the official version on August 25, 2017, Minaj had changed the lyric to, "Damn, they ain't seen young Nicki in a week."
  • Fergie performed "You Already Know" for the first time during her Rock in Rio Lisboa performance on May 20, 2016.

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