Mike WiLL Made-It has revealed a pretty interesting bit of information regarding the creation of Beyonce’s massive record “Formation.” Speaking to the New Yorker for an expansive, in-depth feature, the producer credited with producing “Formation” tells the esteemed outlet that Rae Sremmurd’s Swae Lee is the individual responsible for the song’s theme and concept. After witnessing a Coachella freestyle session with Swae Lee in which the Rae Sremmurd artist rapped, “O.K. ladies, now let’s get in formation,” Mike WiLL says he told Swae Lee that his line could serve as the basis for a “hard song for the ladies. Some woman-empowerment shit. Like, ‘Ladies, let’s get in line, let’s not just fall for anything.’” Following that encounter, the pair swiftly cooked up the track at a studio they had just booked. While hanging out with Lebron James and the Cavaliers in a hotel room, Mike WiLL encountered Beyonce and the following occured:
“And Bey was like, ‘Yo, I like that “formation” idea.’ And I told her what I was thinking about the woman empowerment, and she was like, ‘Yeah I kinda like that idea.’ And she just left it like that.” Although Beyoncé wrote new verses for the song, she built around the central mantra. “We were just thinking about it being a female anthem,” Will added. “Because I knew I just wanted a banger with Beyoncé, like a ‘Single Ladies,’ but I wanted it to be a new kind of chant.”
You can check out the entire interview with Mike WiLL here. As Pitchfork notes, Swae Lee was given co-writing credits for his work on “Formation.”