“it’s not u it’s me” by Bea Miller & 6LACK

According to Bea Miller’s own words, the main sentiment “it’s not u it’s me” is based on, which is the singer terminating a relationship in the name of her own best interests, is not necessarily founded in a romance but all people who “needed a lot more form[sic] (her) than they could return”. But for the sake of clarity it seems that for the most part she approached the song as if she is addressing a lover.

First Verse

In the first verse, Bea paints herself as someone who is self-sacrificing, who has done “anything” this person wanted and gave them “everything” they desired. But in the process of doing so, her own conscience started to bother her “because it wasn’t what (she) wanted”.

Chorus

In the pre-chorus, it seems as if this individual was using Miller’s success to big up himself. But again, this is not what Miller desired of him. Yet she is still appreciative that he has done so, for the “distractions” he provided enabled her to “see the truth”. And as the chorus alludes to, that truth is that Bea needs to dump him in order to focus more on herself. And she wants to make it explicitly clear, somewhat contrary to what she has already stated, that this decision is not about who he is as a person, as she understand that his thinking such would be “bad for (his) health”. Rather this ruling is based on Bea’s assessment that she needs to put taking care of herself to the forefront.

Second Verse

However, the second verse begins with her once again making statements which, regardless of her intent not to hurt this person, would likely do so anyway. For instance, she states that “someone is going to love (him)”, just not her. But her decision to end their union is not based on him. Rather it is founded in her realizing that she is “not the person for (him)”.

Chorus

Then in the second pre-chorus, Bea sheds even more light on why she feels that her relationship with the addressee of this song was a toxic one. For instance, she states that he made her “feel like an idiot” and that she is now chilling with “real” people, on top of implying that he stifled her freedom. But as she alludes to later, she is not out looking for new friends. Rather she has concluded that she is the ‘only one she needs’. 

6LACK’s Verse

And 6lack’s verse is based on the aforementioned ideas, just a bit more-pointed, as he states specifically that he is dedicating time to find “peace of mind” through “self-love”.

Conclusion  

At the end of the day, “It’s Not U It’s Me” almost reads like two different songs. On one hand, it is clear that the singer is miffed at her ex (or whoever this person may be), including accusing him of mistreatment and mismanagement of their relationship. However, at the same time, she states that her decision not to deal with this individual anymore is not actually based on his actions but rather her realization that she does not need anyone but herself. So what is ultimately being stated, as aforementioned, is that the abusive and distracting actions of this person is what drove her to come to this conclusion.

Facts about “it’s not u it’s me”

• Bea Miller is actually a “fangirl” of 6LACK. She personally reached out to the rapper to be featured on this track, and she was very-pleased with the verse he submitted.
• 6LACK and Bea Miller wrote this song along with Mary Weitz, Justin Tranter and Mike Sabath, who is also the producer of “it’s not u it’s me”.
• On March 1, 2019, Hollywood Records released “it’s not u it’s me”.

Before this song, had 6LACK and Miller ever worked together?

No. “it’s not u it’s me” gave birth to the first ever collaboration between Miller and 6LACK.