[10] Boots contributed additional production, background vocals and instruments to the album's first R&B/hip hop single, "Drunk in Love", featuring Jay-Z.

[1] In an interview with The New York Times, Boots would not speak of his previous projects or how Beyoncé found his demo, only confirming he signed a publishing deal with Roc Nation in June 2013.

A last-ditch bout of songwriting yielded “I'm On To You”, a moody minor-key song with layers of eerie background voices and a particular rhythmic undertow.

Boots made the song in a hypnotic state, saying, "I started with guitars, just building the layers until they resembled Aphex Twin soundscapes.

[13] On February 13, 2014 Beyoncé's official Facebook page shared a link to Boots' personal website which contained an original composition titled "Dust" with an accompanying music video.

[18] In July 2014, Boots scored the trailer of 2015 film Fifty Shades of Grey using a slowed-down version of "Crazy in Love" by Beyoncé who re-recorded the song and string arrangements by Margot.

On September 11, 2014, he released a video for "Mercy", directed by himself[21][22] On October 31, 2014, Boots performed "Early" with Run The Jewels on the Late Show with David Letterman.

[25] On February 19, 2015 Nowness premiered a trailer for a post-apocalyptic film titled Motorcycle Jesus, which was written and directed by Boots, which featured five original songs.

[26] In an exclusive feature story with Jon Pareles for The New York Times it was revealed that Boots would be releasing a solo album "later this year".