This was a solo record for Jay Z at first originally called No More Mr. Nice Guy. Biggie wanted it but Jay Z had first dibs on all of the producer DJ Clark Kent’s tracks. Biggie convinced him to ask Jay if he could get on the song. Clark makes the suggestion to Jay in the studio to let Biggie get on the song. He says he has to go to the bathroom but really he went to get Biggie who was waiting in the car downstairs. The crew told Clark he was a “funny dude” for pulling that move. Jay agrees to let Biggie get on the song so he redoes(is that a word?) all his verses but left spaces for Biggie to put his verses in. Biggie’s amazed by the whole thing but he’s not ready right then and does his verses months later. They had some great engineers to piece that whole thing together cause it could have sounded bad if the mix wasn’t right. That’s also the producer doing the hook disguising his voice because he hates how his voice sounds on records. The guy yelling BROOKLYN is ODB. Biggie is also saying ah ah on the vocal sample of the Ohio Players song. Also Biggie and Faith Evans were actually having twins but one of the sacs didn’t develop according to her memoir.
@JustJayReactions Anything to do with Biggie I pretty much know backwards and forwards. I’m not from the east coast either. I’m from the south too. The producer Clark Kent has done a few interviews talking about the session. VH1 back in the day had a show called Classic Albums and Reasonable Doubt was an album they did a whole episode on that you can check out. I’m not sure if the whole episode is online but you can find the clip of Jay and Clark talking about the song. I was a fan of Faith Evans so I read her book and she talked about it there and how she didn’t like the line. Jay Z has a book called Decoded where he breaks down the lyrics and tells various stories about his life. He doesn’t speak about this song specifically but it’s still an interesting read. It was released in 2011 I believe but if you get it he released an updated or an expanded edition some time after its initial release.
@@mr.caldwell7065 Many old school Rap songs used this style way before Run DMC. For example Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five have a song called “Super Rapping” where they literally try to make as they put it ‘Five MCs sound like one’ also The Treacherous Three and The Fearless Four used this style too. It was a standard early Hip Hop form where MCs would seamlessly blend into each other. It took skill and practice.
This was out in the middle of the biggie pac beef. Jay Z tried to stay neutral he knew them both but biggie was his friend. After this song came out, pac started to dis Jay Z but J didn’t see it as an east west thing he chose never to respond. Other rappers dissed him for not firing back at pac but he stood by his decision he addresses it a few times in a few bars over the years.
@@HiphopNovice You might want to check out coming of age part 2... it's the evolution of their relationship in the game... might be nice to listen to them back to back to get the full effect.. just an idea..I know you're busy
Nice reaction and no they were not the first to go back and fourth.. biggie heard one of Jay's producers playing the song and said he wanted it and was told it it was already Jay's song. He said he wanted to get on the song and of course Jay was cool with it they knew each other but had not done anything musically with each other beforehand. Their friendship and bond grew from there. I suggested doing Biggie's album next you may want to go with life after death since it's a little less "Gangsta" and probably has more songs you would enjoy. And yes Shoney's buffet breakfast was the s*** back in the day.
@@HiphopNovice They went to the school together a couple of years apart and Biggie was known to Jay as he was famous but they had no familiarity personally; DJ Clark Kent who convinced Jay-Z to give up the drug game and was Biggies tour DJ or something similar simply praised Jay to Biggie constantly. He would even call Jay a better rapper and that's what got him on Big's radar (and Biggie was astounded when Clark showed Biggie Dead Presidents).
@@HiphopNoviceAnd he/others know a lot of these facts as it's Hip Hop history. So many of these figures have given interviews that are open to be read or watched and compared/sourced for truthfulness. Like I said in an earlier comment i'm only 26 but when I got into Jay/Hip Hop- I obsessively read a million threads/posts across various forums going back to the early 2000s just in order to know as much as I could/have a grasp on the development of online hip hop culture/memes and what people thought about what artists at what time- etc. I also did the same across youtube video comments, facebook, twitter etc so I know far much more than I should.
My mind works the same way. At first I thought it would be a bad idea to watch interviews, read articles, etc. prior to watching. I thought maybe it would taint my perspective. But, now, I think it will add to the experience of hearing/watching. Whats your TikTok?
They called it “in and out flow” red and meth sheek and styles P famous for it. It was big with the DITC type NY style back then. From FL too. I’d say ATL close 2nd to NY repping
It's vocal expression. Neither one of these dudes or been present to violence. It's an a testament to there verbal skills. One Guy tries to out the other guy in Lyricism. Don't take personal or literal. It dudes on the corner bragging. If Barak and Michelle understood and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Understands. Give it a chance with no judgement. Just try to see the genius in the wordplay and rhyme patterns.
@@HiphopNovice you said this is why I don't listen to hip-hop cause of the violence. Then quoted biggie saying shoot your daughter in the calf muscle. Great reaction still. Keep in mind Jay Z doesn't write his rhymes, he puts it together in his head on the spot
