“We played it for the label and Normani” — Songwriter Blush reveals Doechii’s ‘What It Is’ was originally intended for Normani

Doechii’s What It Is became a hit almost immediately after it was released in 2023. It is currently the artist’s most streamed song on Spotify.

One of the songwriters of the uptempo song has revealed that the hit was originally meant for a former member of Fifth Harmony. In a livestream, Bianca 'Blush' Atterberry revealed that the song could have been Normani’s, but the Motivation hitmaker passed it on because it didn’t align with the vision for her debut album, Dopamine.

Blush revealed that Normani’s label RCA recruited her along with J White Did It, Verse Simmonds and Brian Kennedy to craft songs for Normani’s upcoming album, and when they had produced What It Is, they were confident it would be a radio hit song.

Upon listening to the track, Normani felt that it wasn’t appropriate for her album. According to That Grape Juice, Blush stated:

"We played it for the label and Normani, and she didn’t think that it was something that fit her vision. I respected that it is her artistry, it is her choice and it is her vision."

While the songwriter expressed that she respected Normani’s decision not to include the song in her album, she also emphasised that passing on songs by industry artists was normal.

More details on Doechii’s What It Is as songwriter reveals it was originally meant for Normani

What It Is (Block Boy) was released as a non-album single on May 17, 2023, and became Doechii’s first song to rank on the Billboard Hot 100. The multi-genre song also landed the artist in the top 40, peaking at number 29 on the chart.

The original song features rapper Kodak Black, while another version features only Doechii. The hip hop and R&B track samples TLC’s No Scrubs and Trillville’s Some Cut.

The viral hit uses catchy hooks and sampling from nostalgic R&B classics to express the singer’s perspective of an edgy romance. Doechii expresses her love for a bad boy and celebrates hip-hop masculinity with the lyrics:

"I don't care if you run the streets/ Long as you're comin' home to me/ I love the way you walk and the way you speak/ He gon' keep it real, that's the deal/ That's the reason that I speed down, down (Down, down, down)/ I put that all on my name (All on my name)/ Yeah, that's an even exchange (Tell me what it is)/ Stay on your deal, we gon' tell 'em, we gon' tell 'em what, babe"

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What It Is was nominated in the Song of the Summer category at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards.

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