Not long before COVID-19-related closures, rapper-turned-songwriter Supakaine had a chance encounter that changed the course of his career. After ending up in the same room as Saweetie during a writing session, the pair began intensively working together on her upcoming album, Pretty Bitch Music. Through working with the rapper, Supakaine met Dr. Luke, who quickly took a liking to his quick-witted writing style and signed him to a seven-year publishing deal with Prescription Songs in April 2020. Already, the Detroit native has scored two Billboard Hot 100 hits: Saweetie’s “Best Friend,” featuring Doja Cat, and Latto’s “Bitch From Da Souf (Remix).”
While he has also worked with acts like ScHoolboy Q and Internet Money, he says his most successful writing credits have been for women artists, for which he pulls inspiration from his relatives and exes. “I go on Twitter, and some of the girls I know got the most outrageous tweets,” he says. “Being a good songwriter, you pay attention. I feel like my blessing is to be behind the scenes and help really find that star — but the goal is to be an executive. Five years down the line, I want to be writing the songs and making the plays.”
Saweetie, Dr. Luke and writers Theron Thomas and A1 LaFlare came across a half-written version of “Best Friend” sent by Doja Cat in February 2020 while scrolling through tracks at the studio. “We thought, ‘If Saweetie does this with Doja Cat, that’s a f–king moment,’ ” recalls Supakaine. With his own lyrical contributions (“Is that my bestie in a Tessie?”) combined with Saweetie’s audacious style, the duo knew the song would be a hit. “Saweetie is a super perfectionist,” he says. “We probably wrote five verses for the song.” It paid off: “Best Friend” became her highest-charting single, reaching No. 14 on the Hot 100 and topping Rhythmic Airplay.
In line with his aspirations to find and help develop the next star, Supakaine is working extensively with Antonio “L.A.” Reid signee Dixie D’Amelio. Since the TikTok celebrity-turned-singer debuted as an artist with the single “Be Happy,” Supakaine spent time with D’Amelio during a writing camp in February to find a direction for her songs. “I was asking her what she’s into to get a quick glimpse of her taste,” says Supakaine. “She was so quiet, so it really was just me asking her questions.” But eventually, they tapped into the idea of “love that drives you crazy,” and her upcoming hit, “Psycho,” was created — in addition to a handful of other tracks to be included on D’Amelio’s forthcoming album.
Supakaine first met Latto face-to-face in May at a writing session put on by RCA president Mark Pitts and Dr. Luke; a year prior, he and Latto had virtually celebrated the Atlanta rapper’s Hot 100 breakout hit, “Bitch From Da Souf (Remix).” Supakaine says the story behind the remix was simple. “We were just in the studio kicking it one day, and Latto sent [“Bitch From Da Souf”] to Saweetie like, ‘Yo, can you hop on this?’ ” After receiving the track, he and Saweetie wrote a verse capturing her “West Coast girl” energy. “Whenever you shout out a city or area, it’s going to do good,” says Supakaine, who calls the song “an anthem.”
This story originally appeared in the June 26, 2021, issue of Billboard.
