Hi
by Texas (featuring Wu-Tang Clan)

Album: Hi (2021)
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Songfacts®:

  • Texas formed an unlikely friendship with American hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan in the late 1990s when Wu-Tang's RZA and Method Man remixed Texas' "Say What You Want" and performed it at the 1998 BRIT Awards.

    The two bands teamed up again over two decades later for the title track of Texas' 10th album, Hi. "None of us plan anything," Texas frontwoman Sharleen Spiteri said of their collaboration. "That's what's been really great about our relationship and the records we've made. We make them because we wanna make great records – and no other reason."
  • The new collaboration came about after Sharleen Spiteri and RZA met up in Glasgow in 2020 during the filming of a documentary about the making of "Say What You Want."

    "We decided we'd focus on one period in the band's life, a point that changed everyone's perception of what Texas was," Spitari told HMV.

    As part of that documentary, Spiteri and RZA sat down and chatted about the making of "Say What You Want" and that moment in their lives. At the end of their conversation, RZA suggested they do another track together.

    Texas had already written "Hi," and Spitari looked at bassist and co-writer Johnny McElhone, who was off-camera, and said, "That's the song for him." She explained it has that classic "Ennio Morricone feel, that swagger."

    RZA went away and worked on "Wu-Tanging" the Texas tune with bandmate Ghostface Killah. The track retains the pre-chorus from Texas' original demo, with RZA and Ghostface Killah each contributing verses.
  • Though Texas titled the song "Hi," it's actually about getting "high" on love.
  • When Texas released the song as the lead single from Hi, it marked the first new music from Wu-Tang Clan since 2017's The Saga Continues.
  • The Fenn O'Meally-directed video opens with archive footage of Texas and Wu-Tang Clan's performance at the 1998 BRIT Awards before segueing into a clip starring Top Boy and Small Axe actor Kadeem Ramsay. London-based director Fenn O'Meally has also worked with Jorja Smith ("Bussdown") and Maverick Sabre ("Don't You Know By Now").

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