YNW Melly collaborated with Kanye West for "Mixed Personalities," but the collab almost never happened, according to the rapper's manager.
The manager of 100KTrack explained to DJ Akademiks that Ye and Melly got together for a studio session in Los Angeles. “We playing music, [Melly] played one or two records, he’s bumping his head. Then we play ‘Mixed Personalities’ and he goes crazy,” said 100KTrack of Kanye’s reaction. “He’s like, ‘Bruh! This is me! This is Ye! This is Kanye! This is Yeezy! This is me!’ So me and Melly looking at each other like, ‘Damn! He fucks with it?’ He’s like, ‘Bruh, I wanna jump on this.”
According to 100KTrack, they didn't preview the track with the intention of getting Ye to appear on it, since the artists were simply showing each other unreleased songs. "Melly looked at me and I looked at him. I said, ‘I ain’t gonna lie Ye, you can’t jump on this record,'" he continued. "He’s like, ‘Why? Why?’ I’m like, ‘Cause look bro. Remember, this is his album we’re playing. We already turned in the music. I already got Cole Bennett about to shoot this video. This is one of the main singles that we believe in.’ I’m not tripping." Melly and 100KTrack continued to play some songs for Kanye, but he was adamant about getting on “Mixed Personalities.”
"[Kanye] said, ‘Nah Track, nah nah. I’m not gonna lie. Whatever I need to do, I’ll get it done,’” recalled 100KTrack. “He’s like, ‘This is really me. I’m feeling a connection to it. Look Track, ain’t no managers, nothing. Take my number.’”
They told him that if he really wanted to be on the song, he would need to make the video as well. “He’s like, ‘I’ma clear it, I’ma do the video. Whatever I gotta do to make it happen,’” he added.
Kanye wasn't only able to make it on the track, but he also appeared in the Cole Bennett-directed video.