NEWS
In a rare interview with Peter Rosenberg, the New Jersey-via-Haiti rapper explained how the R&B legend blew his mind when they crossed paths.
“I think Usher had an ounce on the table or some shit,” he began with a chuckle. “That was interesting to me. He had his Haitian flag shirt on. He was like, ‘Sake pas [‘what’s up?’ in Haitian], n-gga?’ very loudly.”
He added: “We in a country club, bro. It’s broad daylight. It’s fucking one in the afternoon on a Saturday with the ounce right there. He blew up his spot, so shortly after that it’s like a line of people with their daughters who wanna take pictures.
“I was like, ‘Nobody told you to do that, bro!’ He was like, ‘Man, they won’t leave me alone.’ I’m like, ‘Yes they will.’ That line formed in five minutes.”
After the fans were ushered away (no pun intended), Mach then recalled the “Yeah!” hitmaker interrogating him about the creative process behind his intricate lyrics.
“What’s funny about Usher is he was really on some, ‘How do you do it?'” he continued. “I was like, ‘What? I don’t know. Make music!’ He’s like, ‘Nah, man. What you be doing?’ I guess everybody has a ritual; I don’t.
“He was like, ‘Come on, bruh!’ He tryna shake me down for this shit. Usher is mad aggressive, yo — in a good way. You wouldn’t know until you meet the n-gga.”
The Griselda affiliate went on to share the advice that Usher gave him before their strange enounter came to an end: “He was cool as hell. He was like, ‘Yo, by the way, stay away from such and such, don’t fuck with this, da-da-da. You’ll do great in this town.’
“He laid it down. He wasn’t bullshittin’ so I knew he was really familiar. That shit blew my mind. Because the n-gga came here to meet me. The crazy shit is Jay had to be the one to call him.”
Check out his story at the 1:33:09 mark below.
Mach-Hommy was previously pictured with JAY-Z in 2019 and released his album Mach’s Hard Lemonade exclusively via TIDAL the following year. The deluxe edition vinyl was sold for a whopping $444, a nod to the Roc Nation mogul’s own 2017 LP.
The enigmatic rapper has remained a favorite of Hov’s, featuring on his “Block Vibes” playlist in 2021 alongside other indie rap icons like MF DOOM, The Alchemist and Madlib.
In a 2023 interview with The FADER, Mach opened up about rapping Jigga’s hat off (literally) during a studio session for Jay Electronica‘s long-awaited debut album A Written Testimony.
“I’m in the lab with Jay, [Young Guru] and my man Dred who came with me,” he said. “Guru is playing records off the upcoming album with Jay and Jay Elect. They had my favorite bottled water on deck, room temp, so that was cool.
“We listened to a few tracks. Jay would chime in every now and again with some mix notes. Track after track he’s like Joaquin Phoenix’s character in Gladiator: thumbs up or thumbs down? Shit was surreal, in the moment.”
He continued: “After about an hour or so, Gu plays this one track. Then Jay is like, ‘Mach, you got something for this?’ Meanwhile, I can’t believe this n-gga Hov is asking me that?!? Like, ‘N-gga, is the sky blue?’”
Mach went on to say that JAY-Z disappeared for over two hours while he crafted his verse. When he returned, Mach apparently blew Hov’s mind to the point his hat fell off his head.
“We get to my part,” he said. “He had the shit face going with the hand gestures and everything. About six or seven bars in, the n-gga JAY-Z’s Roc Nation hat flies back. I mean the hat flew. You hear me? Paper planes fresh off the tarmac. That way. ‘Mach, too much Mach, too much!’”
As if impressing JAY-Z wasn’t enough, Mach then said that Beyoncé walked into the booth and asked to hear his verse for herself.
“Even I had no earthly idea what was about to happen, Beyoncé walks in,” he continued. “Beyoncé is like, ‘Where’s the stuff you were talking about?’ She asked Gu to play certain records I was working on, the week prior, like two or three times in a row. What an experience!
“Now it was time for the pièce de résistance, the verse that I recorded earlier that day. At that moment, Gu’s about to press play, guess who walks in? Jay Elect enters. The record plays. Alchemist has another fit. Beyoncé infers, doesn’t inquire, ‘Y’all tryna hurt somebody.’ When she said that … that right there was the finest compliment of the day.”
He concluded: “How’s that for a studio session?”
NEWS
During a recent appearance on The Leona Graham Podcast, Embrace frontman Danny McNamara looked back on the unusual story behind the band's 2004 single "Gravity," a song that was ultimately handed over to them by Coldplay singer Chris Martin.
"The Gravity story, it all starts on Angelina Jolie's spaceship," McNamara explained. The memorable moment happened around two decades ago in the parking area of a major film studio just outside London. Coldplay had been visiting the set of the sci fi adventure film The Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow when the two musicians found themselves sitting atop a giant replica spacecraft. "Me and Chris from Coldplay, we were sat on this huge mock-up of a spaceship... about the size of about five double-decker buses. It was like gold and green and red, and we were sat on it in the car park in the midday sun playing each other songs on an acoustic guitar."
After McNamara played Martin a new Embrace song called "Ashes," the Coldplay frontman returned the favour by sharing a track that had not yet been released. "He played me 'Gravity.' And I just thought, 'Wow, that's like an amazing song.' It's up there with like 'Fix You' or 'The Scientist.' For me, it's like one of the best ballads they've ever written."
Some time later, McNamara received a surprise phone call from Martin late one evening. Gwyneth Paltrow, who was married to the singer at the time, could be heard encouraging him in the background. "Gwyneth was in the background saying, 'Go on, ask him. Ask him.' So anyway, he says, 'You know Gravity?' And I said, 'Yeah.' He said, 'Do you want it?'"
At first, McNamara was reluctant to accept the offer because he worried the attention surrounding Martin's involvement might take focus away from Embrace's comeback album, Out of Nothing. "My thought was like, 'I don't want this to be overshadowed by Chris offering us this song,' so initially I was sort of thinking no. But then I thought, 'Hang on a minute. He's the biggest rock star in the world. What are you doing?'" Curious about why Martin was willing to part with the song, he asked him directly and was told, "Well, I think it sounds too much like Embrace for us to use."
The experience only strengthened the admiration McNamara has held for Martin over the years. Rejecting the common perception that the Coldplay star is predictable or ordinary, he described him as one of the most captivating people he has ever encountered. "That guy is one of the most interesting, charismatic and fun to be around people I've ever met, if not the most," McNamara stated. "I've met a lot of people in my life, a lot of people even more famous than him, and he is far and away the most interesting person. Whenever he's there, I just stand back and just like let him shine. I love him to bits."
