The beat for Kanye West‘s “Mercy” was given to Kid Ink, but he passed on it because of the songs topic; he didn’t own a lambo.
During a 2014 interview with San Francisco radio station KMEL, Kid Ink revealed his decision to pass on the beat saying: “I think the biggest beat I ever slept on was the Kanye ‘Mercy’ beat… I didn’t have a Murcielago, so it didn’t really make sense. I didn’t have a Lambo, so I can’t really rap about this cause the hook was on there,” Kid Ink explained. “I could’ve probably forced some ideas if I thought about it a little harder. I didn’t have any Lambos, so I just felt like I was faking it, rapping about being in a Lambo.”
Watch Kid Ink explain from 5:00
Watch Lifted, the producer of “Mercy” talk about the song.
Kid Ink ended up releasing a Mercy freestyle for DJ Skee a few months after the Kanye in 2012.
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Read: Common passed on the beat for Kanye West’s “Everything I Am” and “Heard ‘Em Say”
