Tay Keith is getting the last laugh, over and over, when it comes to those who questioned or even mocked his decision to collaborate with the undeniably talented, refreshingly authentic Sexyy Red prior to her becoming a household name.
In a new interview with Michael Saponara for Billboard, Keith, whose stacked production discography also counts tracks with Drake and Lil Nas X, looked back on people "trolling the shit" out of him. Per Keith, he’d been keeping tabs on Sexyy’s music prior to them working together; in fact, he says he frequently shared her work with label connections.
"People were trolling the shit out of me," Keith said. "They were real-deal trolling me. It wasn’t much good feedback. It was coming from even people around me, 'What you doing?' I saw the potential. That’s as simple as it was, me believing in her."
As Keith explained, some "doubted" his work with Sexyy at first. Undeterred thanks to his aforementioned ability to see her potential as an artist, the two are now working on a full-length collab project after notching a run of memorable singles together, breakout hit "Pound Town" and last month’s "Get It Sexyy" among them.
Last May, Sexyy spoke with Eric Skelton for Complex about the ubiquity of "Pound Town" and the unique sense of humor and self-awareness in her music. She also shouted out a number of artists who inspired her prior to her own artistic trajectory, including Project Pat, Juicy J, Three 6 Mafia, "Memphis flows" at large, and more.
As further testament to her and Keith's proven power as a duo, "Get It Sexyy" is currently sitting at No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart.
Sexyy, meanwhile, seemingly has plenty more new music on the horizon, including a recently previewed track that sees her having fun with Shawn Michaels' beloved "Sexy Boy" entrance song.
More recently, Sexyy joined Complex for the latest round of Sneaker Shopping at Flight Club in Miami. Catch the full episode below.
