{"id":171116,"date":"2025-12-06T17:03:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-06T17:03:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/171116\/"},"modified":"2025-12-06T17:03:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-06T17:03:07","slug":"cocomelon-crazy-frog-inspired-comeback-hit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/171116\/","title":{"rendered":"Cocomelon, Crazy Frog Inspired Comeback Hit"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tIt was a hectic time in Elkan\u2019s life, and the Sierra Leone-born producer\u2019s phone was constantly buzzing. Taking refuge from the barrage of calls, he began singing repeatedly in the shower: \u201cWho\u2019s calling my phone?\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tHe recorded the hook, which eventually became the centerpiece of Drake<\/a>\u2019s \u201cNokia,\u201d one of the biggest rap songs of the year. \u201cIt turns the pain into praise,\u201d Elkan says, calling the track a \u201cmiracle record\u201d that \u201cbrings the fun back to the party and makes people forget about the nonsense in their lives.\u201d What started as a plea to be left alone turned into a joyful anthem about hitting the dance floor and ringing your friends to find the action. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cNokia\u201d opens with that cooing hook \u2014 \u201cWho\u2019s calling my phone?\u201d \u2014 before sliding into a bouncy retro beat that Drake skates over: \u201cWhere the fuck the function?\u201d Trickling in the background are marimba-like melodies reminiscent of a mid-2000s ringtone, coupled with R&B vocals and futuristic synths. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhen I\u2019m making music, I\u2019m always thinking, \u2018What does 2050 sound like? What are my grandkids going to dance to?\u2019\u201d Elkan says. <\/p>\n

\n\tHe started making the beat for \u201cNokia\u201d in his sister\u2019s spare bedroom, sitting on the floor and playing with a MIDI keyboard. He was drawn to the catchy melodies of childhood. \u201cI love lullabies. When I started making music, I would babysit my stepsister, and I always had Cocomelon on,\u201d he says, referring to the kids\u2019 sing-along channel. \u201cThose melodies permeate my brain, and it\u2019s something that I put into my music.\u201d He also mentions the Eurodance sensation Crazy Frog as an inspiration: \u201cIt\u2019s annoying, but it\u2019s memorable.\u201d \u2018<\/p>\n

\n\tEventually, Elkan sent the beat to Drake and was \u201ceuphoric\u201d when he first heard the rapper\u2019s verses. \u201cThis was something I\u2019d been working on for years,\u201d he says. \u201cTo hear the record was thrilling.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tAs for advice for other artists, Elkan says high-quality equipment isn\u2019t essential to making high-quality art. \u201cA lot of producers and musicians are all about the gear,\u201d he says. \u201cHonestly, you don\u2019t need any of that. It\u2019s all about you as a human.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tAnd in another memorable if annoying turn, the producer can barely ring up a friend these days without hearing his infectious catchphrase on the other line: \u201cWho\u2019s calling my phone?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSongwriters: Drake, Elkan <\/p>\n

\n\tProducer: Elkan <\/p>\n

\n\tLabels: OVO Sound, Santa Anna Records & Republic Records <\/p>\n

\n\tHitmakers<\/a>: <\/p>\n

\n\tElkan, co-writer and producer <\/p>\n

\n\tTheo Skudra, video director <\/p>\n

\n\tKelly Jeffrey, cinematographer <\/p>\n

\n\tMr. Morgan, president, OVO<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was a hectic time in Elkan\u2019s life, and the Sierra Leone-born producer\u2019s phone was constantly buzzing. Taking…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":171117,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[1637,146,86819,85,46,409],"class_list":{"0":"post-171116","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-drake","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-hitmakers","11":"tag-il","12":"tag-israel","13":"tag-music"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=171116"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171116\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/171117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=171116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=171116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=171116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}