Here’s the Crazy Story of How Jay-Z Recorded His ‘Talk Up’ Verse
Jay-Z‘s longtime engineer Young Guru tells the crazy story about how Hov recorded the verse for Drake‘s Scorpion track “Talk Up.”
Young Guru Recalls “Talk Up” Session
On Tuesday (Aug. 6), Drake surprised fans by releasing three new songs and 100 gigabytes worth of unreleased behind-the-scenes footage from over the years. In one video, Drake talks with his team about obtaining the Hov verse in 2018. The clip sparked the memory for Guru, who expounded on the tale in his Instagram Stories.
“The story behind this is beyond crazy,” Guru began below. “We are on [On the Run 2 Tour]. Hov has to do a verse. We had a show that day. He literally wrote that verse after doing a full two-hour show. I had an afterparty. The promotor had to wait for two hours in the parking lot of a stadium. I made it to the club at like 1 am. Just in time for my set. And that is the quick story.”
In a follow-up post, Guru shared a more detailed account.
“Talk Up” is one of five times Jay-Z has blessed Drake with a feature during his career. Jigga’s verse finds him reminiscing on his D-boy days over the DJ Paul and TWhy-produced track, which can be heard below.
“Yo, get close enough to HOV, smell like a kilo still (Still)/First album at 26, I ain’t need no deal (Real),” Hov spits. “Already a hood legend, I ain’t need no Shyne (Woo)/First Rollie flooded out, I ain’t see no time, woah/Stand-up ni**as, we only duckin’ indictments/Dope boys, Off-White, lookin’ like soft white on ’em/Heh, you know what I’m sayin’?/We in the buildin’, we came for a billion, ain’t nobody playin’/Live every word that I’m rappin’/Say I lost 90 bricks and it happened.”
Read More: Young Guru Calls Cap on Dame Dash’s Claim That Jay-Z Stole Songs From Other Rappers
Drake Wows Fans With Never-Before-Seen Footage
Drake’s surprise video drop featured tons of footage that chronicle the rapper’s rise. In one video, he records his 2016 album Views. Drake also plays ping pong against NBA star Steph Curry, rehearses “Take Care” alongside Rihanna and much more.
Read More: Hip-Hop Lyrics That Surprisingly Aged Well
Check out Young Guru telling the crazy story about Jay-Z’s “Talk Up” verse below.