It’s not uncommon for artists to cover one another’s songs, often delivering amended remixes, so it came as a surprise to Jacquees when Ella Mai and her record label reportedly came after his version of her hit, “Trip.” It was back in 2018 when we reported that Jacquee’s cover of Mai’s single was deleted from both SoundCloud and YouTube, and it seems that the “B.E.D.” singer still isn’t quite sure why Ella Mai began to shade him once his version went viral.

During a recent appearance on Big Facts Podcast, Jacquees revisited the controversy and said before there was any animosity over the track, he and Ella Mai were friends. “I don’t think nobody know that,” said the singer. “We was friends. When I met Ella Mai she was already a fan. I remember I went  on tour with Chris Brown, I was onstage or whatever and my security was like, ‘Ella Mai backstage, she wanna meet you.’… I got backstage, she in the room and she’s like, ‘What’s up Jacquees, I’m a fan, I like your music, I’m from London or whatever.'”

Later, Jacquees claims that he DM’d Ella Mai and told her that he loved “Trip” and told her that he planned on remixing the song. “I remember when I put it out, she commented on it. She put all the fire on it.” However, after his version circulated, there were alleged shady remarks from the British singer and it puzzled Jacquees, especially after the cease and desist was reportedly served.

“I just feel like a couple people made her think that I was doing something wrong. Of course, she just now steppin’ into the game. N*ggas been doing remixes and covers forever and they were tryin’ to say I was monetizing off of the record when I wasn’t.” Check out his explanation before and listen to his remix of “Trip” above.