How DJ Khaled got Jay-Z and Nas on the same track: “It was a dream of mine”
Jay-Z and Nas were famously embroiled in a feud during the early 2000s. The pair’s beef involved various diss tracks, including Hov’s ‘Takeover’ and Nas ‘Ether’, resulting in one of the most memorable back-and-forths between two of the genre’s greatest rappers. They’ve since put their issues behind them and collaborated on several occasions, with one of them thanks to DJ Khaled.
By the end of the 2000s, Jay and Nas had collaborated on each other’s albums on songs like ‘Black Republican’ on Hip Hop Is Dead and ‘Success’ on American Gangster. They also teamed up on ‘I Do It for Hip Hop’ from Ludacris’ Theater of Mind album in 2008, followed by ‘BBC’ on Hov’s Magna Carta Holy Grail in 2013.
The duo didn’t work together again for almost a decade until DJ Khaled had a trick up his sleeve. The record producer released his 12th album, Khaled Khaled, in 2021, and it included a song called ‘Sorry Not Sorry’ featuring Jay and Nas. The track also featured James Fauntleroy and Beyoncé under the name of “Harmonies by the Hive.”
Khaled is often in the same room as some of the biggest names and has a knack for collaborating with everyone on his wish list. Considering his track record when it comes to producing hits, it’s easy to see why. The ‘Wild Thoughts’ artist first got the idea to put Jay and Nas on the same song while having dinner with them and some other music heavyweights.
“It’s been a dream of mine to hear them brothers work together,” he told XXL. “Even when they were going through their situation. They’re my two favourite MCs. Even when they moved forward in life, you know, away from that situation, it still was a dream of mine to put that record together.
“Jay’s my brother, Nas is my brother. It was one day, I was at a restaurant with me, Nas, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Mary J Blige, Puff Daddy, Pharrell and so many other people who were all eating dinner. And I remember them just talking, and I was sitting beside them, and they were like brothers, laughing.”
Khaled had the carriage to ask the question and got his reward. “These are my brothers,” he said. “So, I said, ‘You know what, I can make this happen,’ because they know my heart is pure, they know my soul is clean, and my heart is clean, and they know my face is clean, and they know the kind of person I am.
“But from that day, it took me about a few years, to build the courage to actually ask. Even though I felt it, this was the right time. This is a special album for me, you know, called Khaled Khaled, and to put Jay-Z and Nas on a record together.”
Not only did they collaborate on ‘Sorry Not Sorry’, but DJ Khaled also managed to get them both in the music video. The record was a moderate hit, peaking at number 30 on the Hot 100. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait another eight years for a collaboration between them.