What a trio…
After much ado, “Wasted” is officially out everywhere, which features the surprising combination of EDM/pop producer Diplo, rapper Kodak Black, and no other than Texas rock star Koe Wetzel.
We actually first got a hint this might be happening back in March of 2022, and then the trio was posting videos of them all hanging out in Miami filming the music video in August.
Koe later confirmed it was actually coming on the Whiskey Riff Raff podcast, and since then, it’s just been a waiting game for when we’d finally get to hear it.
Diplo took to Instagram to share a little bit about his inspiration behind the song earlier, saying he wanted to get back into country after his Diplo Presents Thomas Wesley, Chapter 1: Snake Oil album in 2020, which featured the 5x Platinum song with Morgan Wallen called “Heartless”:
“I put out a country album almost 3 years ago and it became one of my most streamed projects ever. I got to close stagecoach, I made a song with @thomasrhettakins and @thuggerthugger1 (on the same song) a 5x platinum song w @morganwallen and learned to rope battle.
I been wanted to get started again but I needed to tap into something that felt raw and crazy. It started in miami where I wrote a bunch of songs with @kodakblack and he was on his rock star vibe. he sang this song while he batted a beat on his chest I just tracked it like that on iphone.
took it home and built wasted beat.. then I linked with one of my favorite texas rockstars in the world @koewetzelmusic down in denton, texas and we worked this song into a masterpiece. we went down to everglades and shot this video…
it’s Texas meets Florida and the first song of the next chapter of Thomas Wesley.”
Diplo mentions “Wasted” was written by him along with Kodak Black in Miami while Kodak was “on his rock star vibe,” so now I see why it seemed like a natural fit to bring Koe in too:
Here’s a little of the story of how the song came to be from Koe’s perspective:
“Diplo hit me up, a song he was… he was just wanting to work together. And then he kinda hit me up, and he had a couple different artists he was sending me and sent me this Kodak track.
And I just kinda told him, you know, none of this is really going kinda the way that I’m wanting to throw the music out there.”
So Koe had planned on pretty much saying thanks, but no thanks, and keeping the idea in mind for something else down the road…
“And I was just gonna tell him, like legit, me and Dre are on the plane coming back, and I’m listening through everything, and he was kinda waiting on an answer.
And I was like, ‘Man, I think I’m just gonna you know, do my own thing. And we’ll work together, let’s cook something up one day.’
That night he sent me a track from Kodak, and was like, ‘What do you think about this? This is more your style.’”
With some added bass drum and guitar, the new song seemed way more in line with Koe’s musical style, and he ended up loving it:
“He threw some drums in it, a little guitar and bass drum. I was like, ‘Oh hell yeah.’ So we gave it to Kimball, we kinda worked it up, and then we went to New York and do some stuff with it.
It’s a rock and roll song, honestly man. I’m excited about it. Everybody we’ve showed it to has been really excited about. Ready to get it out there.”
In terms of the content and lyrics, Koe’s verses and lyrics definitely fit right in his wheelhouse style:
“Noticin’ everybody’s part of my mind
Maskin’ the pain with ketamine and wine
I’m sad and happy at the same damn time
I think I found my new best friend
The pistol on the counter keeps starin’ at me
I threw away the bullets and I gave it away
‘Cause life is so much sweeter when you taste it
Bring me back to life when I’m wasted”
I feel like this is the personification of all those “when you put the playlist on shuffle” memes, and while the song certainly won’t be for everybody, I just think it’s cool to see three such different artists working together and trying something new.
The collab promises to be huge for each artist, and of course, will expose all of them to three totally new fan bases, which is pretty damn cool.
Plus, from what I’ve heard from Diplo recently, it sounds like this is just the beginning of him working with artists in the country world again, so stay tuned.
And the moment we’ve all been waiting for… you can check out the song and video here, it’s really somethin’ else: