With Collaborations No. 6 scheduled to arrive on July 12, Ed Sheeran sat down to discuss the upcoming project with his homie Charlamagne Tha God. Off the bat, the two pals discuss the history of Sheeran’s interview room, which for a) collaborators doubles as a crash pad, b) overzealous revelers.
As Tha God marvels at the signature wall, some of the notable guests are running down by Ed. “Taylor was here, Stormzy was here, Ryan Tedder came here, James Blunt, Big Nasty, Fuse ODG,” he explains, before dismantling the origin of his upcoming project. “With a load of UK rappers, I made an EP called No.5 Collaborations Project that I was a big fan of at the time,” Ed says. “I haven’t collaborated on my own stuff since then. I’ve collaborated on the things of other people, but on my own records, it’s just me.”
After explaining that he intends to drop the album and move on, prompting Charlamagne to compare it with a “mixtape.” Ed corrects him, claiming that it is closer to a “compilation album.” He also reveals that creating the project was a natural process, and he went out of his way to avoid any unpleasant label matching.
“When I got it and play it in my car, my rule for it was I’m working with them,” Ed claims. The pair then get sidetracked for a spell to laugh at the inclusion of Ed in the “Donkey Of The Day” intro, which Ed has no memory of laying down due to early morning inebriation.
“In fact, this project began with one idea I had,” says Ed, revealing his intention to create an all-male “Lady Marmalade,” featuring Bruno Mars, Justin Bieber, and himself. Shortly after calling Bruno, Ed was convinced to make a completely different idea for their duet. As the conversation winds down, Sheeran reveals that he intends to respect his position in the culture of hip-hop through goals of returning to the community. “It’s about respect being shown,” Ed says. “Not just being like,’ come to me.’
See the full interview below.