‘I Do’ and the truth behind an “invincible” Cardi B hook
Cardi B has only released one full-length studio album. However, that one project, Invasion Of Privacy, was so impactful it won the Bronx emcee a Grammy award for ‘Best Rap Album’. The 2018 body of work boasted Cardi’s debut single ‘Bodak Yellow’ as well as the chart-topping track ‘I Like It’.
However, it always featured an interesting range of guest appearances, including verses from Chance the Rapper, 21 Savage, and vocalists such as Kehlani and SZA. The latter lent her soft and silky vocals to the closing track, ‘I Do,’ which, much to Cardi’s surprise, was certified double platinum by the RIAA.
Produced by the prolific Canadian beatmaker Murda Beatz, most known for his collaborations with Drake, the song, with its haunted piano melody and off-key flute, is sparse yet hard-hitting and suits both Cardi and SZA perfectly.
However, despite Cardi’s amazing verse, a third-party writer was involved in the creation of ‘I Do’. SZA’s catchy chorus was written by a well-known industry figure, Nija Charles. In an interview with Genius following the release of Invasion Of Privacy, Charles unveiled that she didn’t know her verse would be sung by SZA for the album.
Opening up about her experience working with Cardi for ‘I Do’, Charles told Genius, “I didn’t know she was gonna be on the song until like a week before the album dropped. I didn’t even know “I Do” was going be on the album until like two weeks before[hand].”
Ninja Charles also wrote ‘Ring’, the track on which singer Khelani featured. Comparing the timeframe for the respective verses, Charles unveiled, “For ‘I Do,’ I just did that as a hook only originally, and Cardi loved it. I originally wrote “Ring” as a full demo; it probably took me 30-45 minutes to make the whole song, but the hook came instantly. Once I got in the booth, it came out, so that took about 5-10 minutes to do. ‘I Do’ took me about 10 minutes to do.“
Ninja Charles, who was still a teenager when she wrote the track revealed that the lyrics were so powerful because she herself felt unstoppable and “invincible.” She drew inspiration from her own life experiences when penning the hook, recounting, “19 years old, getting flown out everywhere, I was with Kodak Black the night before, so I was just in a great mood.”
She continued, “When the beat came in, I went into savage mode, and the first thing that came out on the mic was, ‘I left that nigga on read, ’cause I felt like it.’ I wanted to channel how I feel when I look in the mirror in the morning after getting washed in dressed. The hook just came across as feeling invincible.”
SZA delivered the verse fantastically, and the closing track became a fan favourite.