JAY-Z‘s 2001 music “U Don’t Know” was initially made for Busta Rhymes and Prodigy, based on Simply Blaze. Throughout a dialog on the newest episode of IDEA GENERATION, the legendary producer revealed the Blueprint observe was initially supposed for Bus-a-Bus and P earlier than Hov bought his fingers on it. The music wound up as …
JAY-Z‘s 2001 music “U Don’t Know” was initially made for Busta Rhymes and Prodigy, based on Simply Blaze.
Throughout a dialog on the newest episode of IDEA GENERATION, the legendary producer revealed the Blueprint observe was initially supposed for Bus-a-Bus and P earlier than Hov bought his fingers on it.
The music wound up as observe No. 6 on Jay’s sixth studio album, and located him rapping about his elite-level hustling and financial success within the rap and avenue recreation. A remix that includes M.O.P. appeared on his follow-up challenge, The Blueprint 2: The Reward & The Curse, in 2002.
Simply stated he doesn’t keep in mind how the “U Don’t Know” beat took place, however he recalled the primary iteration was supposed as a collaboration between Busta Rhymes and Prodigy — the latter of whom he had a detailed friendship with earlier than his 2017 demise.
“‘U Don’t Know’ was at one level going to be Busta and Prodigy,” Simply Blaze revealed. “Lots of people don’t know, me and P used to hang around loads. I nonetheless don’t have a whole lot of rap mates, proper? He was one of many few folks to really come to the home.
“It was wild as a result of then [The Alchemist] ended up shifting across the nook from me. So ‘U Don’t Know’ had been executed after which I made ‘Music Cry,’ like, the second evening after Jay completed recording no matter he was recording that day.”
Simply Blaze beforehand spoke in regards to the origins of “U Don’t Know” throughout ItsTheReal’s Roc-A-Fella episode of their A Waste of Time podcast in 2017. He defined that former Roc-A-Fella A&R Kyambo “Hip Hop” Joshua referred to as him to make a “soulful” file, and it was then that Prodigy grew to become one of many first folks to rap on the beat.
“I go away to go do a session with Prodigy,” he stated. “Prodigy hears ‘U Don’t Know.’ Then Busta [Rhymes] hears ‘U Don’t Know.’ Yo, the worst factor ever was understanding that I’ve Jay prepared for me however Busta’s doing this Busta Rhymes [style] on the ‘U Don’t Know’ beat. I’m like, ‘Yo, that is actual dope.’ I’m torn. I’m a child on the time and I’m torn.
“Fortunately, Busta didn’t file to it. I’m going again to Soundtrack [Studios], the place Mobb Deep was recording. Prodigy hears the beat; I play it off of a cassette. He begins rhyming to it. Some drama ended up taking place; he needed to go away. I’m going across the nook [to Baseline Studios], I play it for Jay. [This is] all in that very same weekend. Then, unexpectedly, Jay was like, ‘Yo, lay that proper now.’”
Simply Blaze revealed that the entire state of affairs led to JAY-Z taking a liking to him. The New Jersey native would turn into an in-house beatsmith for the label, crafting tracks for a number of artists corresponding to The Diplomats, Kanye West, Beanie Sigel, Freeway, Memphis Bleek and extra.
“You understand how some artists, in the event that they don’t hear one thing nice from you inside 5 minutes, they’re executed with you?” Blaze added. “Jay would sit in a room and hear with you for an hour, discover these two, after which ship you in your means. However after we did these first three he stated, ‘Stick round. I need to make you a star.’ Three years later, I owned Baseline.”
JAY-Z additionally make clear the making of “U Don’t Know” in an interview with XXL in 2009, the place he revealed the music got here collectively on account of a beat-making battle between Simply Blaze and Kanye West.
“Throughout that point, I had two rooms in Baseline,” Hov stated. “It was an enormous room that I used to be in, that I’d file in. Then it was a small room that Simply can be in doing beats. What occurred was, Simply would peep his head in and listen to what me and Kanye was doing and would simply return mad. Like, return and simply go [pounds fist on table], and simply are available in and be like, ‘Yo.’
“And it was like this every single day. It was like a heavyweight slugfest. For 3 days they was simply knocking one another out. And I keep in mind him enjoying that joint, and I used to be like, ‘Oh my God.’”
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