Why Tay Keith Believed in Sexyy Red When Others Didn’t — And How They Became Rap’s Top Hitmaking Duo

Seeing is believing in the rap world, but Tay Keith already knew Sexyy Red was destined for stardom. Before Sexyy’s organic meteoric rise and Rookie of the Year campaign silenced her critics, Keith saw the vision to crown the Hood’s Hottest Princess.

The Memphis-bred super producer trusted his trained ear and disregarded those questioning his decision to reach out to Red in 2022 and collaborate with the St. Louis native. It got to the point Tay Keith said people “crucified” him and even those in his trusted inner circle advised against him teaming up with Big Sexyy.

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“People were trolling the s–t out of me,” he contests to Billboard. “They were real-deal trolling me. It wasn’t much good feedback. It was coming from even people around me, ‘What you doing?’ I saw the potential. That’s as simple as it was, me believing in her.”

First, the dynamic duo invited everyone to “Pound Town” at the top of 2023, which captured Nicki Minaj’s attention and a remix helped Sexyy earn her first Hot 100 entry and Tay Keith’s first as a billed artist. Keith’s bouncy production made her feel right at home as this was allegedly Red’s first time freestyling on a record.

Next, “SkeeYee” caught fire as a song of the summer candidate and became the official practice anthem for the New York Jets. The viral track christened the TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart with a No. 1 bow.

Tay Keith and Sexyy Red carried their momentum into 2024 with “Get It Sexyy.” After a TikTok snippet gained steam, their latest raunchy strip club anthem arrived via Open Shift/gamma in March just days following a Miami link-up and studio session.

“When I finished the beat, I’m telling Sexyy, ‘This the one. This the hit.’ I’m telling her team. I’m just knowing when I made it right there I’m like, ‘This is the hit,'” Keith recalls. T.K.’s intuition was proven right, as the frenetic tune (accompanied by a video starring Soulja Boy) gave Sexy her highest-charting solo single on the Hot 100, peaking at No. 20 and currently sitting at No. 22.

“I feel like we make the best club music right now,” Tay Keith declares of his chemistry with Sexyy Red. Even outside of the studio, Keith says they have a great rapport turning up and having fun. He compares it to a brother-sister relationship, and says Sexyy reminds him of the women he grew up around in Memphis.

With all of the wins (and the undeniable club bangers) stacking up, it’s only right that Tay Keith and Sexyy Red team up for a full-length joint project. Keith promises they are hard at work putting the collab album together, but doesn’t want to put a release date on that just yet.

Check out the rest of our interview with Tay Keith below, as he touches on being “10 percent music, 90 percent business” at this point in his career, working with the likes of Sexyy Red, Jennifer Lopez and Drake, plus more.

Last time I interviewed you, it was the start of your rise during the summer of 2018 after working with Drake on Scorpion. What’s the biggest change for you in your life compared to then?  

Tay Keith: First and foremost, the main thing that has changed for me is my mother’s passing. She passed two years ago, so this will be the third [anniversary] in November. That kinda changed everything for me with my mindset about a lot of things. Just going through the emotions with that, and building myself back up and going harder and getting back focused on my grind. When you go through things like that, it’s no handbook to tell you how to deal with that. So having to continue making music — it’s a journey for me, and that’s one of the biggest changes in my life.

Are you someone that threw yourself into your work after [your mother’s passing] or are you someone that steps away from music and disconnects? 

I definitely threw myself into work. Music has always been my getaway. I felt like when I didn’t have nothing, I had music. I’d be in the room cooking up when I was in high school. All I had was music, so it was a getaway. I definitely buried myself into music. I went through therapy and s–t. I had to better myself and focus on not just music, but spending more time with my other family. Personal life took a toll on me, but we here today. We still winning.

I’m still having successful runs in my career and I’m blessed. I didn’t let nothing stop me. I stayed focused. I had to learn how to deal with certain things.

I think you’re underselling your winning streak there just a bit. One of your most recent wins was with Sexyy Red, as you guys teamed up again for “Get It Sexyy,” which is a top 20 hit on the Hot 100. What’s the creative process when working with Sexyy and how organic is it in the studio?

That whole situation is so crazy. We had did it in the last week of February or [the] beginning of March. I made the beat and we did the record that week. She did the snippet and it kinda caught on. So when she released the song, it took its course. It was a spontaneous song we had created. We was in Miami and had just left from Memphis. I flew to go work with her. I’m like, “We gotta get another big record.” When I had started on the beat, I had my producer send me some chops. We chopped it and I heard it and I’m like, “I know exactly what I had to do with it.” I made the beat from the sample chop.

When I finished the beat, I’m telling Sexyy, “This the one. This the hit.” I’m telling her team. I’m just knowing when I made it right there I’m like, “This is the hit.” I got a good ear for music. Fast-forward, she started on the record and she went to St. Louis to finish and we released it in the next week and a half and it just went crazy. It was an organic moment. I feel like we make the best club music right now. I definitely thought it was a hit – undeniable. Sometimes when I make beats, I get a feeling of “this is the one.” That was definitely one of the beats that I got that feeling for.

What’s been special about the rapport between you and Sexyy Red? What’s there in that connection or the origin there? It’s been crazy.

She just remind me of a woman from Memphis. She is just raw. It’s just authentic. She from St. Louis, so it feel like we kind of bonded and started creating music out of having fun. We enjoying the times and s–t. Not just in the studio locked in, we really enjoy ourselves kicking s–t. I feel like when it’s genuine, that’s where the hits came from. We got a genuine brother-sister relationship. I f–k with her heavy. We just continue to keep it going. Every time we get in the studio we make a hit.

So she’s someone you’ll hang with outside of the studio and just kick it?

Yeah, we just kick s–t. We’ll pop out here and there. Turn up and s–t. Before I had worked with Sexyy, I worked with a lot of Memphis artists. I knew a lot of the beats I was making was catered toward the club s–t. I think that’s what made her want to work with me. The records I make, strip club anthems. The songs that go in the chilling states. I think us working came from her wanting that type of sound.

I love how organic her rise was throughout last year.

It’s definitely organic. I think that’s what the people didn’t expect. Just how raw it was to become that successful and big. The thought of that wasn’t even real. I think people doubted me working with her because they didn’t see the reason to do it. I definitely seen the potential. I tell people all the time how long I was watching Sexyy Red’s music before she blew up. I was watching her s–t for a while. Like going on YouTube and listening to her s–t. Sending people her music and labels and people I know at certain labels. At the time, I didn’t know what I could do with it. I sent it to folks, “Y’all gotta f–k with her.” I didn’t know what to do with it — but it’s gon’ work, I swear to God!

What made me reach out was she ended up working with Wikid Films. A big music director in Memphis. Him connecting with her made me want to try some s–t.

When’s the collab album coming?

That’s mandatory. We trying to come up with a name. If you got names for us, you can give us some help on how we gon’ run it. We definitely got a collab album on the way. We putting work in cooking up s–t. In a sense, we just working on a lot of s–t. I touch up a lot of records. I feel like she do what she do best. She don’t necessarily need no writers or other producers. I really just come and do my party and [not] overstep and let her be as creative as she wants. It been working for her this long.

You think it will release this year?

I don’t know, man. We still working. I can’t put a date on it. We definitely got some heat. We got a lot of [records] for sure.

How was working with Jennifer Lopez on her album [This Is Me… Now]?

That was legendary. It was dope. I came in and co-produced on a couple of records. It was a good experience linking with her and somebody on her level. Angel Lopez brought me in to work with them. We actually worked [in the studio] on that project. It wasn’t much about the process it was more about bridging the gap between the music she creates and the music I create.

If you listen to the tracks I produced, you can hear a little bounce to it. The process was how to blend those worlds together. It was something I had to experience just growing up hearing J. Lo from elementary on out. That was some cool s–t. Had to check that off the bucket list.

You reunited with Drake last year for another Hot 100 No. 1 hit, how did “First Person Shooter” with J. Cole come together?

We barely slept for four days finishing that song. It was just one of those songs you knew it was one of them big hits. We was up in Toronto – no sleep – working on that s–t. We just vibed out. It was last year right before the album had dropped. It was a good experience to cook up with everybody – Boi-1da, Vinylz, Oz. [Cole’s] part was [done] before I got there.

With the “Big 3” talk on there, who are your “Big 3” of producers?

Drumma Boy, Metro [Boomin] and Dr. Dre. I feel like Drumma Boy was one of the most influential producers for my generation. The Memphis sound was big before people even knew. I feel like he should’ve gotten more recognition with the sound he created and the people he put on. Metro setting the bar even higher for producers paving the way. Dr. Dre set the bar so high for producers beyond music. You can’t do nothing but respect it.

Would you want to do your own solo album like Metro Boomin did?

Yeah, most definitely. I’m working on that too. Definitely got s–t in the vault. I feel like I’m not where I want to be to release an album. The collab happening with Sexyy and many more collab albums are on the way.

Who else do you want to lock in with? I know you want to work with Post Malone too. 

Post doing his thing out here [in Nashville] too. I want to connect the dots [with Post Malone] on some trap s–t. But I wouldn’t be surprised if we did some other s–t. Post Malone is one of the people I’ve wanted to work with, because I like his music. I just want to manifest that. Working with Jay-Z also, I gotta get a Hov record. I set the bar high for myself. I want to do big s–t with artists who were a big part of my story, and inspired me before I became successful.

Are you sending any beat packs out to Cardi B?

Yeah, facts. We got a couple of records. I did “Freaky” on Offset’s album. We got several songs. That might be a good one.

What trends are you noticing that are leading to hits and chart success in rap?

It’s realizing that you gotta make music that’s for you and not the industry standard. If you peep the sexy drill going on with Cash Cobain, that music wasn’t expected. That wasn’t something expected to blow up. Even the music with me and Sexyy — of course people didn’t expect it to blow up because it was so much in the pocket of the artist. Anybody who creating music now, I feel like the best way of blowing up or mainstream is creating what you think is innovative and new.

Even with me, when I first came in the game in 2017, I was making music that nobody was creating. I had a sound that had Memphis origins, but my style to it. That’s really the formula: just make good s–t nobody’s making. You can’t be scared to showcase it.

Outside of music, what are you getting into? I know you have a tequila brand.

To be honest, I’m 10 percent music, 90 percent business at this point in my life. My main thing is building my company Drumatized, which I’m a 50/50 partner in with my manager. We been building that and branching out into different avenues. We got the compound we have a lot of artists come record in. We bridging the gap with the studio team and us being a hub in Nashville for rap.

[The tequila is with] my colleague Teddy Jasper and we went to college together. I invested in the company a year ago. He had the play so right it was something couldn’t pass up. The start-ups and tech companies I’ve been investing in. [There’s a ] new company Udio I invested in a couple of months ago, and that’s an AI music-generated software.

You mentioned the AI music company you invested in, a lot of artists have spoken out about AI and music but it sounds like you’re leaning into it. Can you speak to what you see coming there?

I just met Ghostwriter at the Grammys party. What he did was revolutionary. He changed the game with the AI voice s–t. That can lead to so many avenues. The music industry needs to get ahead of it. I would think the labels start to sign artists off of AI. It can also be used to our advantage in ways, for collecting royalties and publishing on the business tip.

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