Camila Cabello and Jimmy Butler have one unlikely thing in common.
The “I Luv It” singer, 27, and NBA star, 34, took it to the basketball court in a video for her Complex cover story and played a game of HORSE. The two got to know each other through a series of questions between shots.
Although Cabello isn’t known for playing ball, she is an established hitmaker with songs like “Havana” and “Señorita.” Her forthcoming album, C, XOXO, arriving on Friday, June 28, marks the first time Cabello has not used any outside co-writers, except the record's collaborations with 37-year-old Drake, “Hot Uptown” and his solo interlude “Uuugly.”
“What inspired your new era and reinvention?” asked Butler at the 17:57 mark in the video above.
“I think a lot of things inspired this new album. But I definitely think like, the spirit of curiosity, the spirit of being bold, of taking risks,” said the former Fifth Harmony member.
“That's why the first song was ‘I Luv It because it was, I feel like a vibe that nobody had heard from me before," she continued, referring to her Playboi Carti-featuring single. "Also just getting back to the craft of songwriting, you know, not having any other outside co-writers and it just being me."
Butler then noted he’s ready to push his pen as a songwriter in the country music scene.
“From somebody that's trying to write an album right now, I realize how hard that is to do,” said Butler.
“I can’t tell if you’re joking,” Cabello replied.
“I’m very serious,” Butler countered.
Cabello then said he sounds like he could be a great singer from the sound of his speaking voice alone. Butler specified that he strictly wants to be a songwriter and might call on Cabello for “a favor.”
This isn’t the first time the Miami Heat star has talked about his country music ambitions. Last October, Butler, who calls 31-year-old Morgan Wallen a close friend, said he has been in the studio writing and producing with some big names in country music.
"I don't want to tell anyone who I've been writing with because then it'll ruin the surprise," Butler told Rolling Stone at the time. "Now, I'm in the lab writing and producing country music. We got some real artists and songwriters. We probably got around 45 tracks right now, and I hope to go write some more."
He continued, "There's definitely going to be an album. That's the goal. I just don't know when. The date I want to do it always gets pushed back because this other job that I have, playing basketball, kind of overshadows everything. [Laughs] And maybe some of the songs will be down the line for my second or third album. I can't wait to get it to the people."
Camila Cabello’s fourth studio album, C,XOXO—featuring the single “I Luv It” and collaborations with Drake, the City Girls, and Lil Nas X—drops on Friday. Read her new Complex cover story right here.
