{"id":490774,"date":"2026-06-09T14:45:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T14:45:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/490774\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T14:45:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T14:45:12","slug":"drakes-habibti-maid-of-honour-how-qendresa-landed-on-both","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/490774\/","title":{"rendered":"Drake’s ‘HABIBTI’ & ‘MAID OF HONOUR’: How Qendresa Landed on Both"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tA random Instagram DM changed Qendresa\u2019s<\/a> life. Born Qendresa Sopa, the Northwest London-bred R&B singer was out dancing at a beachfront party when she checked her phone and saw a message from Champagnepapi, Drake\u2019s<\/a> IG alias.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\u201cI got the Champagnepapi DM when we were dancing,\u201d she recalls of Drake using her \u201cTearz\u201d song in an IG post<\/a> last year. \u201cI was like, \u2018What the f\u2013k? He just posted my song!’\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tDrake dropped another hint at a potential collaboration when he posted the vinyl covers to Qendresa\u2019s Midnight Request Line and Londra albums on his Instagram Story<\/a> in February.<\/p>\n

\n\tQendresa later found out that producer Kid Masterpiece, who has worked extensively with the 6 God, put Drake onto her music. Kid Masterpiece would play the British-Kosovar singer\u2019s music on SiriusXM\u2019s OVO Sound channel.<\/p>\n

\n\tWith influences ranging from Sade<\/a> to Frank Ocean<\/a>, it\u2019s not hard to see what drew Drake into Qendresa\u2019s music. She blends a unique mix of \u201990s R&B, funk, EDM and jazz for an atmospheric sound. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201c\u2018Slap the City\u2019 was the first thing he sent me,\u201d Qendresa says of her HABIBTI collaboration with Drizzy, while speaking from her Brighton flat. \u201cHe made me laugh because he was like, \u2018This one sounds like a bit of us.\u201d I was like, \u201cHe\u2019s f\u2013king right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tShe continues: \u201c[We] started sending each other unreleased stuff, stuff he was flirting [with] around ICEMAN or stuff from before. Same with me. I did a bunch of stuff and I really miss that time. I was working on my bits and I was getting Drake stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe woozy \u201cSlap the City\u201d debuted at No. 39 on the Billboard Hot 100<\/a> when Drake\u2019s trifecta of albums toppled the charts following their May 15 releases. Qendresa also contributed vocals to HABIBTI\u2018s \u201cFortworth,\u201d \u201cGen 5\u201d and MAID OF HONOUR\u2018s \u201cStuck.\u201d However, she didn\u2019t sing the ad-libs on ICEMAN\u2018s \u201cRan to Atlanta,\u201d which many on the internet have speculated.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Drake stimulus boosted Qendresa from six figures to over six million monthly listeners on Spotify.<\/a> She\u2019ll look to parlay the momentum into more eyes and ears on her next project, which the singer\u2019s currently working on.<\/p>\n

\n\tCheck out the rest of our interview with Qendresa, which touches on her Drake collaborations, early music influences and plans for the future, below.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat got you into music growing up and who did you listen to?<\/p>\n

\n\tI grew up in the \u201990s and 2000s. Around those times, there was really good music on the radio. It\u2019s much different in the U.K. than America. You actually play hip-hop on the radio. I remember going to yoga in L.A. and they were playing Drake and Future. Here, it\u2019s just pop. Back in the \u201990s and 2000s, pop was good. There was a wide variety of different genres that were good, so you have Blink-182, Sade, Missy Elliott and I was a big Spice Girls fan. I saw a TikTok explaining that the Spice Girls debut album was West Coast inspired. At the time, I didn\u2019t know. The beats are sick. They were a huge inspiration of mine. I love them a lot. <\/p>\n

\n\tGrowing up into my teens, I became obsessed with grime and Dizzy Rascal was a huge inspiration of mine and Wiley. In Northwest London, where I\u2019m from, we had Flirta D. We had Channel u where local artists would post their videos and you get exposed to U.K. talent.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat led you into singing?<\/p>\n

\n\tI always sang in school. My uncle got me into the Fugees quite young. I always loved \u201cKilling Me Softly\u201d and any talent show that was my go-to. I didn\u2019t take it seriously. I didn\u2019t have anyone in my family or around me that did it. We were working class kids. We don\u2019t have examples of artists. Art is a rich people\u2019s sport in a way, unless you get lucky and take the risk and invest all your s\u2013t in that. <\/p>\n

\n\tWhen I was young, I was performing in my mirror listening to Spice Girls, Britney Spears, Missy Elliott and Mariah Carey imagining I was them. I was visualizing and manifesting it, but a part of me didn\u2019t think it was a possibility. <\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s just my manager and agent at the moment, all women. I never signed to a label. We\u2019ve been grinding for the last two years. Before that, I was doing everything myself, from answering emails and booking gigs and uploading my s\u2013t onto YouTube. Even the way I used Instagram before, I was such a hot mess. I got artist friends and we all kind of struggle with the Instagram thing. It\u2019s too much pressure, we\u2019d rather just be making music.<\/p>\n

\n\tFast forward to now, how did you link up with Drake for \u201cSlap City.\u201d I saw him post your albums on his Instagram Story. There was no contact with him before that?<\/p>\n

\n\tNo contact before that. The only thing we saw was Kid Masterpiece playing our stuff on OVO Sound. Further down the line, Drake told me that Kid Masterpiece put him onto my music. I\u2019m still processing everything. He reached out and I was super shocked and grateful. It\u2019s something I\u2019ve thought about a lot in my life. Ever since he\u2019s been dropping music, I\u2019ve always been inspired by him and his writing and beats and artistry in general. It always gave me motivation, not even as an artist, but as a person to stay true to what I\u2019m doing. This was about a year ago.<\/p>\n

\n\tHow did the recording process for ICEMAN start?<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSlap the City\u201d was the first thing he sent me. He made me laugh because he was like, \u201cThis one sounds like a bit of us.\u201d I was like, \u201cHe\u2019s f\u2013king right.\u201d I did my thing on it and with these things you do your best and let it be. You want the best outcome for the project. If that means it\u2019s going to make the album good, then that\u2019s all I want for this whole thing and all I strive to do when collaborating. <\/p>\n

\n\tDid he take ideas you had and mix you into \u201cFortworth,\u201d \u201cGen 5\u201d and \u201cStuck.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tI just added harmonies to those, they were already done. <\/p>\n

\n\tDid you know he had three albums coming?<\/p>\n

\n\tThere wasn\u2019t any talk about three albums, no. He dealt with everything himself. I was under the impression our managers would talk, so I gave his number to my manager and he dealt with my manager himself. He took things into his own hands and added a personal touch. It felt like we were part of this big thing. I just wanted to do the best I could to help somebody who\u2019s been a huge part of our lives. I was shocked when we got the call for playback and it was four songs. I saw the livestream and it was mind-blowing, but before that we got the call for playback just the day before ICEMAN.<\/p>\n

\n\tMy first-ever producer, Hugo Mari, produced \u201cClassic\u201d on HABIBTI. We\u2019ve had quite an emotional few weeks, because when we first started out we had zero followers and no money. We just had this vision, and we always wanted to work with Drake. 10 years later, for both of us to be included is crazy.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSlap the City\u201d debuted at No. 39 on the Billboard Hot 100. What did you think about that?<\/p>\n

\n\tThat\u2019s blown my mind. The response in general for the ones I\u2019m on, it\u2019s funny because we have two different audiences. What ties us together is the stuff we make and love. That audience comes together for that. I got a good message from a fan making a reference when you meet a friend at the club and he knows the friend you\u2019re with like, \u201cWhat the hell? You guys know each other?\u201d It\u2019s a beautiful and unexpected thing. It\u2019s a perfect friendship or amalgamation. <\/p>\n

\n\tHow has it been to have so many new fans? I call it the Drake stimulus. He spotlights an artist and they\u2019re out of here to the moon.<\/p>\n

\n\tI do feel that. My fans are usually quite like me. I\u2019m not really posting on social media all the time. Seeing his fans come and showing support, I\u2019m touched because things can go down all sorts of way on the internet. New artists don\u2019t always get welcomed in nicely. Everyone\u2019s come to my page quietly and respectfully. They took their shoes off at the door. I got great feedback from them on DMs and YouTube comments. They\u2019re loving discovering my music. I got a message from Lil Yachty the other day, \u201cIt\u2019s great he\u2019s shining a light on what should\u2019ve been discovered a long time ago.\u201d They\u2019re saying, \u201cIt\u2019s about time you got your flowers.\u201d [Yachty and I] have been meaning to link-up, he reached out to me a couple of years ago and we\u2019ve been trying to figure something out.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat do you have coming up musically? You dropped \u201cRain in July\/Be the One\u201d in May. I didn\u2019t know you were a producer as well. <\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019ve got some bits coming out. I\u2019ve got a single coming out that I wrote as a dedication to Mexico. I\u2019ve been there three times now and I\u2019m a bit obsessed. I was on my way to perform there and I wrote a song that\u2019s coming. I\u2019m working with Hugo Mari wrapping it up. I spent a lot of time in Mexico City. It\u2019s like a 45 minute flight to this beach town. You don\u2019t need to leave or do anything. <\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019m now in my new flat and I got these crazy sea views. It\u2019s not a fancy flat, I\u2019m not there yet. I just needed some peace and quiet and this is perfect. That\u2019s why I moved out of London. I\u2019ve got loads of music. Everyday I\u2019m doing something with music, whether it\u2019s writing, making beats or finishing something. I\u2019ve always got beats that are sent to me that I\u2019ll work on. We\u2019re fleshing out some projects.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cRain in July\u201d was a bit inspired by me trying to emulate an afro-swing vibe. There was a lot of Burna Boy when I made it four years ago. I was inspired by his melodies and the way he made me feel with his songs, so I tried to emulate that. \u201cBe the One\u201d is a burst of something that I don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n

\n\tDo you have plans for an album later this year?<\/p>\n

\n\tMaybe I got three albums on the way, let\u2019s see. <\/p>\n