The Ends

Album: Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight (2016)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The opening track of Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight, "The Ends" is London slang for "neighborhood."

    This was the first song Scott recorded in his new Beverly Hills home. All the tunes on the album were either laid down by Scott in his crib or on the tour bus during the Saint Pablo tour. He told Billboard magazine: "I was doing that s--t in the field. I don't like studios. That's why all my s--t be leaking."
  • Andre 3000 raps the second verse in which he reflects on the infamous 1979-1981 Atlanta Child Murders and how he still struggles with survivor's guilt decades later.

    Over the two-year period, roughly 29 African-American children, teenagers and young adults were kidnapped and murdered in Atlanta. Wayne Williams, an Atlanta native was arrested and convicted for two of the murders in 1982. After his conviction the Atlanta Police Department announced that Williams was responsible for at least 23 of the 29 Atlanta murders, though Williams continues to maintain his innocence.

    André previously referenced the notorious killings on Goodie Mob's Soul Food track "Thought Process," when he rapped, "The only thing we feared was Williams, Wayne."
  • Scott's original intention was for Andre 3000 to narrate the album but he ended up rapping this verse instead.
  • The song was produced by Wondagurl, Evian Christ, OZ, Vinylz and Daxz. WondaGurl didn't start working on "The Ends" until the beat was largely completed. She recalled to Genius: "It was already a produced beat and Travis Scott just gave me the files for it and just told me and Daxz to make it better. I just added a bunch of things throughout the whole song. Me and Daxz also did the intro to the song."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Angelo Moore of Fishbone

Angelo Moore of FishboneSongwriter Interviews

Fishbone has always enjoyed much more acclaim than popularity - Angelo might know why.

Alan Merrill of The Arrows

Alan Merrill of The ArrowsSongwriter Interviews

In her days with The Runaways, Joan Jett saw The Arrows perform "I Love Rock And Roll," which Alan Merrill co-wrote - that story and much more from this glam rock pioneer.

Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty

Rob Thomas of Matchbox TwentySongwriter Interviews

Rob Thomas on his Social Distance Sessions, co-starring with a camel, and his friendship with Carlos Santana.

Rufus Wainwright

Rufus WainwrightSongwriter Interviews

Rufus Wainwright on "Hallelujah," his album Unfollow The Rules, and getting into his "lyric trance" on 12-hour walks.

Classic Metal

Classic MetalFact or Fiction

Ozzy, Guns N' Roses, Judas Priest and even Michael Bolton show up in this Classic Metal quiz.

Ian Anderson: "The delight in making music is that you don't have a formula"

Ian Anderson: "The delight in making music is that you don't have a formula"Songwriter Interviews

Ian talks about his 3 or 4 blatant attempts to write a pop song, and also the ones he most connected with, including "Locomotive Breath."