123 Victory

Album: Losing My Religion (2015)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This gospel jam was originally recorded for Kirk Franklin's Losing My Religion album. It features a bubbling bassline from session musician Braylon Lacy, who has also worked with Erykah Badu and Toni Braxton.
  • Franklin recruited his longtime friend Pharrell Williams for a fresh version of the track. "The song was already on my album and when I thought about doing a remix, Pharrell was like, 'You know what? Why don't we just start from the beginning? You know, do something fresh from the beginning,'" said Franklin.

    "So, he had a track that he showed me he was working on," he added. "And I really liked the track. So, what I did is I ran to the next studio room, sat down with a piano and just wrote the song."
  • The remix was penned by the pair in May 2016, inspired by the police shootings and civil unrest in America that was going on. It was released as a single on August 19, 2016. "When all of the tragedy that's been going on over the last six, twelve weeks, with just the shootings, killings and the unrest, [I] thought that it'd be a good time to release a song," explained Franklin.

    "'Cause we did the song back in May and we've been talking for a while about doing something and finally did it," he added. "And kind of sat on it, not really knowing what we're gonna do and then when everything hit, it's like, you know what, maybe this would be a good time to release it."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")Song Writing

Director Mark Pellington on Pearl Jam's "Jeremy," and music videos he made for U2, Jon Bon Jovi and Imagine Dragons.

Why Does Everybody Hate Nu-Metal? Your Metal Questions Answered

Why Does Everybody Hate Nu-Metal? Your Metal Questions AnsweredSong Writing

10 Questions for the author of Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces

Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake & PalmerSongwriter Interviews

Greg talks about writing songs of "universal truth" for King Crimson and ELP, and tells us about his most memorable stage moment (it involves fireworks).

Paul Williams

Paul WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

He's a singer and an actor, but as a songwriter Paul helped make Kermit a cultured frog, turned a bank commercial into a huge hit and made love both "exciting and new" and "soft as an easy chair."

Harry Wayne Casey of KC and The Sunshine Band

Harry Wayne Casey of KC and The Sunshine BandSongwriter Interviews

Harry Wayne Casey tells the stories behind KC and The Sunshine Band hits like "Get Down Tonight," "That's The Way (I Like It)," and "Give It Up."

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And Hell

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And HellSongwriter Interviews

Guitarist Tony Iommi on the "Iron Man" riff, the definitive Black Sabbath song, and how Ozzy and Dio compared as songwriters.