Redman reveals the biggest pay cheque of his career
Redman experienced his biggest pop moment in 2002 with his guest appearance on Christina Aguilera’s hit single ‘Dirrty’. Teaming up with producer Rockwilder, the singer used Redman’s 2001 song ‘Let’s Get Dirty (I Can’t Get in da Club)’ as inspiration for a new hip-hop direction, while also recruiting the Def Jam rapper for a verse.
In a new interview with Red Bull 1520, Redman described ‘Dirrty‘ as one of his favourite collaborations in his career and explained how it gave him the opportunity to tour with a pop superstar, as well as a pay cheque bigger than anything he’d seen before.
“Christina is one of my favourite collabs because I did a song called ‘Let’s Get Dirty’ featuring DJ Kool, what up Uncle Kool, and she liked that so he made an R&B-pop version of that record,” he said. “So I got on the record and that shit took off. We was everywhere, bro. She brought me on tour, we was overseas.”
Redman said the experience was unlike anything he’s experienced before, claiming hip-hop has nothing on the size of the pop industry. The collaboration also earned him the biggest publishing cheque he’s ever received.
“That album, [Stripped], was one of her biggest albums, and we was everywhere,” he said. “I got to actually see how a pop artist shakes and moves through this industry, and it’s another level than hip-hop. And plus, my publishing cheque? Oh my god! That publishing cheque, n-gga! I couldn’t believe I got that much money for one verse. It was over $250,000, my first cheque.”
Not only was it a major moment for Redman, but it was also the coming of age for Christina Aguilera. Speaking to The Irish Times in 2019, she described ‘Dirrty’ as a statement of intent in being her true, authentic self.
“I really wanted to be honest and truthful. So I came out with ‘Dirrty’, and that was my fuck-it moment,” she said. “That was me stepping up and saying I was a woman that’s proud of my sexuality. I was proud of my vulnerability. I was proud of the fact that I’ve fought my way through this industry.”
As well as Redman, Christina Aguilera’s Stripped album also featured Lil Kim on the song ‘Can’t Hold Us Down’.