Last week, Bronx rappers Fat Joe and Remy Ma followed up their summer smash “All the Way Up” with “Cookin’,” the second single from their forthcoming joint album Platas o Plomo.
Co-starring their frequent collaborator French Montana and rapper Ry So Valid (Joe’s real-life son), the new helping of bars from the Terror Squad MVPs features a hashtag-ready hook and baller sensibilities.
Below, Remy discussed creating the track with Joe, French and Ry, as well as her favorite meal to cook IRL and why her friends have dubbed her “Remy Martha Stewart.”
French Montana was on “All the Way Up” and joins both you and Joe for “Cookin’.” What makes collaborating with French unique?
What makes collaborating with French unique is that he’s just like family. I’ve known him for so many years since we were both kids and before he was this huge star. It’s to the point where recording with him is like when I record with Joe. It’s just like, “That’s bro right there.” It’s just natural how that sh– be, and it only makes it better. [French] has this dope, unique voice, as does Joe, and I come on sounding like the female Barry White, so I just think we sound great together. I love him and I’m just so happy that we can all be successful together.
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How did the hook come about?
The hook came from [Fat Joe’s son] Ryan. [Ry So Valid] made up the hook, and I think he was gonna use it for his song. Joe heard it and was like, “You wanna be on this song with us? That would be a great hook for me and Rem’s album.” It transitioned very easily. He was like, “Sure.” That’s nephew right there, so it wasn’t even like it was an issue recruiting him for the song. Like [we told him], you’re gonna be on it, that’s it. Obviously, he’s Joe’s son so he’s been around Joe his whole life. He definitely has the genes.
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You mention making chicken in your verse, but what is your favorite dish to whip up?
When I say “baked chicken” in the song, it’s so funny because it’s like it’s a play on words. The slang for “money” nowadays is “chicken.” People say like, “Oh, how much chicken you got for whatever we buyin’?” or “I just made some chicken doing X, Y and Z.” I just feel like I’m making so much money so fast so I’m like, “I’m making baked chicken.” You know, I’m cookin’.
But in real life, when it comes to cooking, I would say my favorite meal to cook is spaghetti. I love making spaghetti and meatballs. That’s like my specialty. But if someone’s like, “Yo, make the best thing you know how to make,” it would probably be some type of dessert, ’cause I cook desserts the best, like my pies and my cakes from scratch are A1. Everybody always recruits me to bake something. Sidebar: My friends all call me “Remy Martha Stewart,” ’cause they say I bake, I cook, I home decorate, I do parties and events. It’s hilarious.
Can we expect Remy Ma and Fat Joe throwing down in the kitchen for the video? What will viewers be most excited to see?
No, we don’t have any scenes in the video in the kitchen. We actually planned to. It was on the storyboard, but once we started doing the video, it just turned into something totally different. I think [fans will] be very excited to see videos from the early 2000s, late ’90s when people spent millions of dollars on videos like Puff, Ma$e and Busta Rhymes. We’re making these huge videos. We shot in Dubai, we got animals, we got all type of different vehicles and different aircrafts, and it’s just a huge, expensive, dope video.