Offset Recalls Meeting ‘Nice, Sweet Soul’ Whitney Houston & Dancing in One of Her Videos

Long before the days Offset rose to fame as one-third of the seminal Atlanta rap group Migos, he got his start in the entertainment business while dancing for Whitney Houston. During his appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show Friday (March 8), Offset recalled impressing the music icon with his slick moves when auditioning for a dancer role as an 8-year-old circa 2000.

“My mama seen a billboard sign saying you could come try out. I pulled up. I remember my mama told I’ll never forget, ‘When the music come on, just go out there and do your thing,’” he shared. “I was smaller than everybody. Everybody was 11 or something, and I was like 8. Then I did it.”

“I remember she came from the back and pointed me out. When we shot the video, she was just a nice, sweet soul. Bobby Brown was cool too. He was making us laugh. He was cool. Yeah, both of them. I got a lot of cameos too.”

Offset’s moves earned him a backup dancer role in Houston’s “Whatchulookinat,” which landed on the late singer’s Just Whitney album in 2002. The Bobby Brown-produced single cracked the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 96.

Whitney wasn’t the only legendary artist Offset danced for as a kid. He also made an appearance in a TLC video.

Elsewhere in the interview, Offset revealed his initial hesitancy to kick his lean addiction, as he felt the purple drank — codeine and promethazine cough syrup mixed with soda — was fueling his creativity.

“I was drinking lean a lot. For a minute, my younger brain would tell me, ‘This is what’s giving me the sauce to put on the songs.’ But I started to see it affect my family. I got five kids — I’m a grown man and I gotta take care of the house,” he said.

“I seen that and the people that love me the most like my mama would tell me, ‘Ay, son, you know you stronger than that. You need to shake that,” said the artist, who shares daughter Kulture and son Wave with Cardi B; he’s also dad to sons Jordan and Kody, and daughter Kalea from previous relationships. “When I shook it, I was able to make hard-fire songs. I felt like I could record in the daytime and get more accomplished. I noticed people would tell me my attitude or how I’m speaking was more clear.”

Watch Offset’s interview below.