Everybody needs a friend like will.i.am. The rapper is gearing up to drop a song titled “Mind Your Business” with Britney Spears, the making of which the Black Eyed Peas founder opened up about in a new interview.
“I’ve been a fan, a friend and a supporter of Britney throughout the years,” he gushed Thursday (July 20) on CBS Mornings. “A supporter as far as a person who goes out and listens to her music, a supporter as far as somebody that’s there to help champion her through her times when she was fighting for her liberation. She is an amazing person.”
“Mind Your Business” was first announced Monday (July 17), when will.i.am posted a seconds-long snippet of the track to social media featuring Spears’ iconic tagline “It’s Britney, b—-.” Though the single was originally expected on Tuesday (July 18), will.i.am later shared on Instagram that it was now slated for Friday (July 21), writing that Spears is “one of the most fearless, strongest, kindest, purest people I’ve met in my life…I always loved working with you and I always will.”
The collaboration marks his second song with the “Toxic” singer, with the pair first coming together in 2012 for “Scream & Shout.” And though a lot has changed between then and now — most notably the termination of Spears’ 13-year conservatorship — the “Let’s Get It Started” musician says the pop star’s love for music is still the same.
“Music is therapy for lots of people,” he told CBS Mornings. “Dancing is therapy for lots of people. It helps you with anything that you’re going through. I see that every time I see her dance on her Instagram. I light up, because I see how much she loves music.”
“To collaborate with her now and then, when you’re in the studio, when you’re making music, that’s the only thing that matters,” will.i.am added. “I see the same light, the same joy, the same love and passion.”
It’s not hard to guess at the message behind “Mind Your Business,” given how vocal Spears has been about the crushing consequences fame has had on her mental health — something she’s expected to talk about in her highly anticipated upcoming memoir, The Woman In Me. Will.i.am touched on how her experiences inspired the new track, empathizing with the lack of privacy that comes hand in hand with stardom.
“When you’re in the spotlight, a lot of times you just want to live your life,” he said, before revealing one of the song’s lyrics: “Hands up in the cookie jar/ They watching me, they watching y’all.”
“That has to do with privacy and everyone else, every individual out there who feels that they are not living a private life in social media,” the musician added. “There’s a thin line, and everyone deserves their own version of privacy.”
Watch will.i.am talk about “Mind Your Business” with CBS Mornings above.
