Maria I'm Drunk

Album: Rodeo (2015)
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Songfacts®:

  • This nearly six-minute-long track about getting wasted on alcohol and drugs features additional verses by Justin Bieber and Young Thug. Surprised to see Justin Bieber featuring on such a track? It was the Canadian pop star who personally reached out to Scott about working together, facetiming the rapper to tell him he was eager to collaborate. Scott instantly knew this slurry cut was the perfect track for Bieber to jump on.

    Scott recalled to Billboard magazine that he sent Bieber the track, which he'd already recorded with Young Thug and "he called me the next day like 'Yo, come up to the studio."

    The rapper added: "As soon as I got to the studio he played it for me. He already had [his rap verse on it] done. That s--t was f---ing crazy. I went back in and produced over it. That s--t's so pure!"
  • In the intro Travis Scott and Young Thug state they are "Callin' for Maria. Lost without Maria." The name "Maria" in this song is not a girl but a reference to marijuana. "Maria" is the Spanish name for "Mary" and weed is commonly referred to as "Mary Jane."
  • Even though Rodeo talks a lot about drinking and drug use, Scott told Billboard magazine that he's not a heavy user of either. "I barely drink alcohol and I smoke weed kind of," he said. "But I don't do coke or any of that crazy-ass s--t."
  • Travis Scott co-produced "Maria I'm Drunk" with Frank Ritter, Frank Dukes, and Maneesh. The latter traced his contribution to a particularly difficult period in his life.

    "A lot of my stuff comes out of pain, so I just made that," Maneesh told Billboard. "My part is the Travis part. I was just lost, and I made an R&B idea. Very Phil Collins-inspired. To me, it was so ahead of its time, what Trav was doing."

    Maneesh's atmospheric R&B foundation became the backbone of Travis Scott's sections, helping shape the woozy, emotionally blurred soundscape that defines "Maria I'm Drunk."

    His mention of Phil Collins may seem unexpected for a psychedelic hip-hop track, but Collins' gift for pairing cavernous production with raw emotional vulnerability has influenced artists far beyond rock and pop. Maneesh believes Scott was pushing that sensibility into new territory, blending melody, mood, and rap in a way that would become a hallmark of Travis' sound.

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