Karol G coached Drake line by line for Spanish verse on 'Ahí'
Karol G did not want Drake to rap in English on "Ahí". She wanted Spanish, and she taught him how to sing it.
The Colombian singer explained the collaboration in an interview on Popcast, the music podcast from The New York Times, published on 8 October. "I love him singing in Spanish," she said. Her discussion of Drake begins around the 51-minute mark of the episode, according to Billboard.
She said Drake asked if he should do his verse in English. She told him to stay in Spanish. He then asked her to help him perform the Spanish section perfectly.
That led to a line-by-line session in the studio. Karol G talked him through each lyric and helped with pronunciation, including the rolled sound in the Spanish word "rico".
"Ahí" is billed as "Karol G feat. Drake" and appears on her album No Me Arrepiento de Sentir Tanto. The track peaked at No. 44 on the Billboard Hot 100, the main US singles chart, and topped the Hot Latin Songs chart, which ranks Latin singles in the United States.
The album reached No. 8 on the Billboard 200, the main US albums chart. It also includes a track titled "Still" with Bruno Mars.
Fans first heard the duet live in Houston. Drake joined Karol G on stage there for the live debut of "Ahí", with his verse including the lines "I want a Latina, I want a Latina / I want a G like Karolina." He also performed "Janice STFU" and "One Dance" at that Houston show.
Drake later appeared at the Toronto date of her Viajando Por El Mundo Tropitour. Toronto is Drake's home city.
For fans, this means the Spanish vocal was no accident. Spanish is familiar ground for Drake. His earlier Spanish-language performances include "Odio", "MIA", "Gently", "Modo Capone" and "MEET YOUR PADRE". On "Ahí", he also interpolates, or reuses part of, his own track "MAID OF HONOUR".
