MNEK samples a ’90s classic on brand new single ‘Paradise’ – LISTEN
By Will Stroude
Grammy-nominated singer and producer MNEK is back with a brand new single to soundtrack our summer – with a little help from an absolute classic track from twenty years ago.
The 22-year-old Londoner – real name Uzoechi Emenike – has sampled Ultra Nate’s iconic 1997 dance smash ‘Free’ for his latest track ‘Paradise’, and believe us when we say you’ll have this one on repeat over the next few months.
MNEK – who in between scoring UK Top 5 hits like ‘Never Forget You’ with Swedish pop starlet Zara Larsson somehow manages to find time to write for the likes of Madonna and Beyoncé – says that the pulsating R&B track is all about escaping reality (something we could all do with while cooped up at work in mid-July).
“Around the time I wrote ‘Paradise’, so much dance music was coming out and doing well with literally any 90s R&B song as the main topline, of the whole song. It really bothered me!” he explains.
“So, I decided to sample a dance song for an R&B track. I’ve always loved ‘Free’ by Ultra Nate, so it was such an honour to have the blessing of the writers of the song to sample it for ‘Paradise’.”
Give ‘Paradise’ a whirl below:
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