Lyrics by Kesha, Recording & Production by Jack Smith
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Key Lyric: “Boys from Memphis to Bangkok try to get keys to my Candy Shop”
Inspiration (Why this song?)
The last few releases of mine, truthfully, have been based in emotional catharsis. I haven’t really gotten the chance, yet, to put something out that is based truly in just fun and my love for music… until today!
Butterscotch has always been my favorite song by Kesha. For over a decade, though, it was never actually published. You could find it on YouTube, Soundcloud, Forums, etc. but it wasn’t available on streaming or as part of any of Kesha’s officially released albums. Last year, though, she put out an anniversary package of her original album that included Butterscotch! Finally, after years of just being a bootleg, Butterscotch was finally real! That also meant: I could finally record my own version.
Additionally, I’ve been having a bit of a tough year. I wanted to bring in some good energy and vibes as Pride Month approaches, especially because it doesn’t seem like I’ll be able to afford to do anything special otherwise. I love that Butterscotch is unapologetic about the sex appeal and the “man parade” of it all, and so, for this year, I wanted to imagine that boys really do all want my butterscotch. Likewise, I wanted to put out something that was extremely in-your-face gay. Not “yass queen” gay, but “I love men on my body” gay. I find there to be a lack of male pop artists that are outwardly into men the way singers like Kesha get to be & I always learned to be the change you want to see!
Sonic Identity
One of the fun parts of this track is that it was composed before Kesha officially released Butterscotch. Last summer, I made it for a remix of the song that I had put out to “manifest” Butterscotch’s official release one day… and then a few months later, she actually officially released it. I was bewildered! But I wanted to give myself the full circle moment of publishing the track I made to manifest its ability to be published.
In terms of sonic identity itself, I wanted to incorporate sounds of New Jack Swing, a late 80s/early 90s sub-genre of rnb/pop/hip-hop that I’ve always appreciated. For the first time on one of my published tracks, the drums are actually all programmed by hand using the same samples that producers in the 90s were using for their own songs! For the instrumentation, I wanted to evoke space. There are some synths that really sell the Super Mario Galaxy of it all mixed with layered Erhu Violins, which I brought in to pay homage to the soundtrack of an old Ms. Pac Man game that inspired my lifelong interest in the New Jack sound.