“Be Kind To Me, Be Kind To You” by SZA
Written and Produced by Zo!, Phonte & Bill Sherman
All Instruments by Zo!
Appears on Sesame Street (Season 55, Episode 13)
Back on February 27, 2024, I had just returned home the day prior on an absolute high from playing a beautiful sold out at London’s legendary Jazz Cafe with the crew (Tall Black Guy, Deborah Bond, Brandon Lane and James Shelby). I got a call around 1:30/2pm from Phonte asking, “Yo, you back at the crib? What you on today?” I’ve gotten that question before and I know it means something fairly urgent is coming next. “Yeah, I’m back. I’ve just gotta pick Leslie up from school and I’ll be back in here. What’s good widdit?” He let me know that he had just gotten a text from his Questlove Supreme brethren, Bill Sherman a/k/a Unpaid Bill (Emmy, Tony & Grammy Award winning Musical Director of Sesame Street) and he needed song for the show. Man, HELL yeah!! Dope!! …….And he needs it by 8 or 9pm. Top to bottom. Done. Well DAMN! Now, super tight deadlines and same-day hail marys were nothing new for Phonte and I (see our jam for John Legend’s Father’s Day Special on ABC from 2020. Also completed from start to finish in less than 12 hours). Sooo… Alright, BET! Let’s do it!
After agreeing to give it a shot, Phonte forwarded me the voice memo from Bill that served as a quick vocal reference for what was the song’s hook. “Got it! After I go get Leslie, I’ma be good. I’ll hop on it.” Once I completed my fatherly pick-up duties, I returned home and got to work. I tried not to concentrate on the fact that I was on a crazy tight deadline for Sesame Street, a show that I, my daughter and literally millions of us grew up with and focused more on making something dope that could make kids smile. Once I figured out the chords around his hook reference, the rest of the song really kinda fell into place. The chords came through, then I played the drum pattern out… then the bass guitar. A little more candy was added to the song to sweeten it up some and the music was finished by the deadline time!! Bill and Phonte were rockin’ widdit and got to work on finishing writing the lyrics for it. We had our +FE Music family, BeMyFiasco demo the vocals, which she recorded on Feb 28th as a reference for SZA… and on Feb 29th, SZA recorded her final version. Come March 1st, the Muppet voices had been added, which was absolutely surreal to me. Listen man, anyone who knows my mother personally… Ask her about me and my relationship with Sesame Street as a toddler. Whenever the show would come on/go off, I used to dance around in a circle, smiling big as hell while humming the song’s melody. And now as an adult, I’m helping to make music for this show?? Come on now! What a CRAZY full-circle moment.
Once SZA’s vocals were locked in on the song, I picked my daughter up from school that day and decided to play it for her without revealing her favorite artist (next to Tyler the Creator) was singing over music her Daddy created – I wanted to see if she would recognize her vocals… I pulled the song up for her in the car and her jaw dropped to the ground. With her mouth wide open, she slowly turned to me and said, “IS THAT…???” Man, I would have completed that song again on a damn THIRTY-minute deadline just to get another reaction like that out of her. A couple weeks later, Leslie’s best friend was was on speakerphone flipping out with her after receiving the news. “Did you meet her?! Did you talk to her?? I’m so happy for you!” It reminded me of when I picked my daughter up from school one day in 2nd or 3rd grade and she told me that she and her friends thought I was famous because they could Google me. Truly hilarious, sweet and innocent.
Helping to bring this song to life has hit on SO many levels. What a dream come true, man. And the number of my folks who have texted me today saying they’ve played the joint for their young ones really means everything. From “Count To Five” to Sesame Street… Here’s to completing future work like this much more often! …And here’s to a Sesame Street Composer credit!!
Zo! 