The story of how the song “Deep End” came into existence and became a hit is kind of wild. One person who really didn’t see it coming is the person who created it, Fousheé. She’s a singer and songwriter from New Jersey. You might have seen her competing on The Voice in 2018. Soon after that, she got asked to make a pack of vocal samples for the music platform Splice, where users can download samples and include them in their own songs, royalty-free. Coming up, Foushée tells the story of what happened with one of those samples, and how that led to her making “Deep End.” That song has now been streamed over 385 million times. Fousheé became the first Black female artist to hit the Top 10 Alternative Chart in over 30 years.

You can buy or stream “Deep End” here.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

footnotes
Itai Shapira, producer
Fousheé’s “Be Kind to Your Ears” sample pack on Splice
“Deep End Freestyle” by Sleepy Hallow
Fousheé’s “Deep End” TikTok video