Tears Of Joy

Album: Teflon Don (2010)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Ross teams up with Gnarls Barkley's Cee-Lo Green on this soulful track. The collaboration originated from the two artists running into each other in L.A. Ross told Cee-Lo about a song for which he wanted the Gnarls singer to provide some vocals. The Miami rapper sent the song off, and it was completed in a fortnight. "He had verses on it already," Cee-Lo told MTV News. "But [the words] 'Tears of Joy' is all I needed. Ross did Ross, which is great. [The song] represents the contrast/contradiction which is life."
  • The song opens with a short clip of a speech from Black Panther leader Bobby Seale.
  • No I.D. produced the track. The Chicago beatmaker originally teamed up with J. Cole for the song but the rapper was not able to produce the goods. "I couldn't have did what Ross did on that, because [I] was in a bad place," Cole admitted to MTV News. "Me and No I.D. was in the studio, but the label was on me about some hits, so it was a bad session. I squeezed out a verse on 'Tears of Joy,' but I was not in a good place to do anything close to what Ross did on that."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Ian Astbury of The Cult

Ian Astbury of The CultSongwriter Interviews

The Cult frontman tells who the "Fire Woman" is, and talks about performing with the new version of The Doors.

Zac Hanson

Zac HansonSongwriter Interviews

Zac tells the story of Hanson's massive hit "MMMbop," and talks about how brotherly bonds effect their music.

Maxi Priest

Maxi PriestSongwriter Interviews

The British reggae legend tells the story of his #1 hit "Close To You," talks about his groundbreaking Shabba Ranks collaboration "Housecall," and discusses his latest project with Robin Trower.

Janis Ian: Married in London, but not in New York

Janis Ian: Married in London, but not in New YorkSong Writing

Can you be married in one country but not another? Only if you're part of a gay couple. One of the first famous singers to come out as a lesbian, Janis wrote a song about it.

Graham Parker

Graham ParkerSongwriter Interviews

When Judd Apatow needed under-appreciated rockers for his Knocked Up sequel, he immediately thought of Parker, who just happened to be getting his band The Rumour back together.

Chad Channing (Nirvana, Before Cars)

Chad Channing (Nirvana, Before Cars)Songwriter Interviews

Chad tells tales from his time as drummer for Nirvana, and talks about his group Before Cars.