Hear Migos’ Demo For Beyoncé & Jay-Z’s “Apeshit”

Taylor Jewell/Getty Images for Vogue

Hear Migos’ Demo For Beyoncé & Jay-Z’s “Apeshit”

Taylor Jewell/Getty Images for Vogue

“Apeshit” is the lead single from Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s new collaborative album Everything Is Love, or at least the first track to get a music video. Migos members Quavo and Offset can be heard ad-libbing in the background, and both rappers are credited as co-writers on the Pharrell-produced track. As it turns out, their part on the song used to be much bigger: “Apeshit” was a Migos demo before it got to the Carters.

The Migos reference track has made its way online, and its similarities to the final product are significant. Basically the entire chorus and pre-chorus in the Migos version match up with Beyoncé’s parts. The main difference is that Offset introduces the “Have you ever seen the crowd goin’ apeshit?” the second time around; the first time he raps, “They know that this a banger” instead. In terms of learning how the sausage is made, it reminds me of that NYT mini-documentary about how far along “The Middle” was before Zedd got involved with it. Like Zedd, the Carters functioned more like executive producers here.

Bey and Jay did apparently chip in their own verses, though — and obviously they turned the video into the kind of spectacle they specialize in. Check out the Migos demo and the Carters’ “Apeshit” video below.

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