(From l. to r.) Laura Veltz, Catherine Brewton and Edgar Barrera
LOS ANGELES, CA (LA ELEMENTS) 2/4/2026 – “It’s part of who I am, I was born and raised on the border of the U.S. and Mexico,” says GRAMMY nominee (Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical) Edgar Barrera about working within multiple genres. “I always saw myself as the border kid that could connect genres.”
Barrera reflected on the global hit, “Unx100to” with Grupo Frontera and the man of the moment, Bad Bunny, during a special GRAMMY edition of BMI’s How I Wrote That Song. Held at The London West Hollywood on Friday, January 30, nominated songwriters from the BMI family gathered to share insights into their craft. BMI VP, Creative, Catherine Brewton moderated the discussion before an audience of fans, creators and industry executives. Over the two-hour panel, DJ Faucet played a couple of hit songs from each panelist, and from there, the audience got an insider’s look into how each hit was created.
GRAMMY nominee (Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical) Laura Veltz shared the background on co-writing BigXthatPlug’s “Long Nights,” and how she fell in love with the rapper’s music after hearing his songs during walk-ups at her son’s little league baseball games. Like it was meant to be, Veltz heard it through the grapevine that BigX wanted to record with country artists and pitched a hook to his team. They “grabbed” it and X wrote his parts around her hook. Veltz noted his 2025 album, I Hope You’re Happy, was “revolutionary.”
Rogét Chahayed, whose “APT” scored a Record of the Year GRAMMY nom, spoke about collaborating with Yeti Beats on Doja Cat’s, “Kiss Me More.” After hearing that the theme of Planet Her would be more anime, Chahayed returned to his foundation and love for jazz music using his favorite 2-5-1 chord progression. Yeti Beats presented it to Doja Cat, and she initially turned it down multiple times, but after he sped up the tempo a bit, it became a main part of the massive hit. Chahayed shared some advice advising not to put too much pressure on creating. “Keep moving and creating and you might get that call…You never know what your winning lottery ticket will be.”
Rogét Chahayed
Ink recalled that after meeting Kendrick Lamar, she just “inked it out….melody is everything to me.” The musical artist strives to “get it done in one take and one flow.” Although her skills as a songwriter have seen collaborations with the likes of Christ Brown and Jennifer Lopez just to name a few, Ink still gets a little starstruck. By her own admission, meeting Beyonce was “intimidating and nerve-wracking.” Drawing on her roots and experience of busking on the streets of Atlanta, she knew what she needed to write and record. From there, they collaborated on “16 Carriages” and “Texas Hold Em,” which were both released on Super Bowl Sunday 2024. Her song, “Luther” won a GRAMMY nomination for Song of the Year this year’s ceremonies.
Ink
J.I.D earned not one but two GRAMMY nominations this year. (Best Rap Album, God Does Like Ugly and Best Melodic Rap Performance, “Wholeheartedly”), shared that bringing in 21 Savage on “Surround Side” helped him tell a story from different perspectives and how the Tik Tok “Ceiling Challenge” made the song a viral sensation. He noted, “You never know when a song will go viral…it’s something a label can’t pay for. It’s gotta be organic.” JID also said that he strives to be a “good steward” and when sampling from icons like Aretha Franklin he “feels honored to pass along beautiful music that the next generation might not have heard or appreciated before.”
J.I.D
A highlight of the two-hour panel was a surprise appearance by Gospel great Kirk Franklin, who was invited to the stage by Brewton to share some words of wisdom and explain how he created his hit song, “I Smile.” When asked how he felt about the song having such a big impact, the 20x GRAMMY winner noted that he was humbled every day and thought about the melody and lyrics as he was dropping his kids off to school. He went on to say that “It’s the vulnerability, having that certain hunger and being open to critiques helps to keep the music moving.”
Kirk Franklin
Celebrating over 80 years of service to songwriters, composers, music publisher and businesses, BMI is a global leader in music rights management, serving as an advocate for the value of music. To learn more about BMI please visit their site.
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Cover photo of BMI EVP, Chief Revenue and Creative Officer Mike Steinberg, Edgar Barrera, Catherine Brewton, Rogét Chahayed and all other photography courtesy of Louis Lee for BMI
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