"I've inspired a generation of bad writers," Jay joked to MTV News last week.
But the Def Jam president and iconic rapper obviously wrote down lyrics at one point in time. In fact, he revealed the last time he actually did so was for "Can I Live," a standout track on his 1996 debut, Reasonable Doubt.
"What happened was, I was doing that song with someone else, and they heard the first verse and they was like, 'Man, you take that song. Finish it, 'cause it sounds like you got a lot more to say,' " Jay explained in a lengthy interview in which he discussed lyrics and songwriting. "You know, that type of thing. So I just wanted to get it down quick, I didn't want to keep going over it. It was like [the album] mastering time, so I just sat down in the booth and wrote that [verse]."
The verse contains multiple gems over the woozy, horn-laden production, like the lines: "I stepped it up another level, meditated like a Buddhist/ Recruited lieutenants with ludicrous dreams of getting cream/ Let's do this, it gets te-di-ous/ So I keep one eye open like, C-B-S, you see me stressed, right?"
According to Irv Gotti, who produced the track, the song was supposed to be a collaboration between Jay and a member of the rap group Original Flavor. Gotti mentioned he believed Nas was also set to appear on the track, too. But after the OF member passed on the guest appearance, Jay got to work finishing the song.
No comments:
Post a Comment