Rotimi Says 'In My Bed' Will Be Responsible For Many Post-Quarantine Babies

Rotimi’s “In My Bed” has a couple different meanings. As he sings, there’s a meeting in his bedroom — specifically in his bed — so while in quarantine, this may mean something innocent, like he’s on a Zoom day-to-day check-in. Or it might mean something a little bit more provocative, naturally. The 31-year-old singer and actor, most well known for his role as Dre on Starz’s hit series Power, tells MTV News over the phone that now, throughout in the time of social isolation, the song has two age-specific meanings.


“I think the PG version of it is that everybody’s working, you know, actually attending virtual meetings and having conference calls,” he says. “But the R-rated version of this is that there really are going to be a lot of December, January, and February babies.”


Since releasing his debut project, The Resume, in 2011, the New Jersey native has pulled off a tightrope creative act: He’s released four mixtapes and three EPs, all while starring in movies like Divergent, Acts of Violence, and more (he’s also set to appear in Coming 2 America later this year). Even with so much on his plate over the years, his true arrival feels like right now. The EP that Rotimi released last summer, Walk With Me, has amassed more than 80 million streams and spawned his breakout song, “Love Riddim,” that has 18 million views on YouTube.


Right now, Rotimi’s “In My Bed,” which features Wale, is on track to surpass his last hit and become the de facto stay-at-home anthem for alluring assemblies. A new acoustic version of it is segment of Unplugged Sessions, his newest EP, out today (April 17). Rotimi talked to MTV News about the song’s creation and why its meaning has evolved since the coronavirus pandemic has noticed plenty of people at residence with partners participating in, um, “meetings.”





This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity. 


MTV News: How are you doing while in this quarantine? 


Rotimi: Man, I'm binge-watching everything that I've routinely wanted to be able to see. Also, early in the quarantine, I took one day to basically use the studio that I just built, and we made a whole unplugged acoustic EP that’s just natural, man. It’s music that I routinely wanted to prepare, and I wanted to just give something to my fans that will hold them over up until this quarantine's over.


MTV News: What was the decision like to record an acoustic project? I feel like we don’t visualize that as much anymore.


Rotimi: I wanted to show people my vocals and what I can really do. I think that a voice sounds best over a guitar, so I wanted to basically explore that. Also, I wanted to just give people pure, feel-good music that the world really needs now.


MTV News: You released your first project, The Resume, in 2011. How would you mention your approach to music has evolved since then?


Rotimi: Well, I don't have to sneak into studios anymore. That's No. 1. Nevertheless you know, once you're putting in 10,000 hours, you get to a place where you’re still a student, yet also a master of your class. The Resume did super well for me If I was in Chicago because it gave me a lot of confidence to keep doing what I'm doing right now. Right now, the world is my platform.


MTV News: “In My Bed” comes from your latest project, The Aesthetics of Becoming. How does that body of work play into this journey so far?


Rotimi: It’s another piece of my developments, you know, just me growing up as an artist and making it to the next level. Just even taking "Love Riddim," as an example, and putting Akon on the remix of that, it shows how I continue to grow. The same with "In My Bed.” I'm really delighted of that because, vocally, it puts me in my own lane of pop, R&B, and Afrobeats. I don’t think that anyone else is doing that.


MTV News: How did "In My Bed" come about?


Rotimi: Harmony Samuels, who produced "Love Riddim,” hit me up one day and mentioned, “Bro, I have the best sample for you.” He sang me some of the hook over the phone, also it was just infectious at that point. If I got to Los Angeles, we made three or four records that night and the last record we did was “In My Bed.” We knew that we had something special and brought it to the label who loved it. They wondered who could be featured on it and each person on my team instantly thought of Wale. I called my Nigerian brother and we knocked it out. He sent it back the next day also it was a wrap.


MTV News: What's it going to feel like in nine months once everybody cites this song as being the one that brought them their next child?


Rotimi: If they put me in those classic Luther and Usher conversations for baby-making music, I think that every R&B artist would want that.


MTV News. With this pandemic possibly extending quarantine and potentially changing how we interact with artists and pop culture, how do you, as an artist, count on maneuvering through these eccentric times?


Rotimi: You know, you must be creative as an artist, man. You got to let people know that you really do this. And that's why I wanted to create Unplugged Sessions, where it's just me and also a guitar. These are the moments that folks are going to remember and the true artists are going have the ability to survive. And I think that I'm one of them.