This empowering anthem dates back to a 2011 studio session with Mariah Carey and her longtime collaborators Jermaine Dupri and Randy Jackson. The original idea was to record it as a charity single with guest artists to raise money for human rights issues. That song never saw the light of day but it was re-recorded in 2020 for Carey's The Rarities compilation album, a collection of previously unreleased material. With its timely message of "we're all in this together," both the singer and Dupri separately realized how appropriate the track would be for the COVID-19 era. "It happened organically that the lyrics are so apropos to this exact moment," Carey said.
The new version samples Lauryn Hill's wailing vocals from the bridge of Fugees' 1996 single "Killing Me Softly." Carey said during a Zoom listening party that she's always been a fan of Roberta Flack's original recording and the Fugees' hip-hop interpretation was her "go-to record" when she was touring in the 1990s. "I love Lauryn, I think she's an incredible artist," Carey shared. "I was happy that Lauryn wanted to do this moment with me... I only wanted to do it with her approval and excitement."
Randy Jackson isn't credited on the new version, but Carey and Dupri are along with "Killing Me Softly" writers Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel. Also listed is Carey's longtime musical director James "Big Jim" Wright, who passed away in 2018.
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