The true story behind Jay-Z’s verse on Drake song ‘Talk Up’
Jay-Z collaborated with Drake in 2018 on ‘Talk Up’ from his Scorpion album. The song was relatively successful, peaking at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 with around 116 million Spotify streams. On the surface, it might seem like Hov strategically perfected his verse in his own time, but it was anything but that.
The Brooklyn rapper’s lyrics find him rapping about his experiences growing up in the Marcy Projects and coming up in the hip-hop industry. Jay raps in his verse, “Yo, get close enough to Hov, smell like a kilo still (Still)/ First album at 26, I ain’t need no deal (Real)/ Already a hood legend, I ain’t need no Shyne (Woo)/ First Rollie flooded out, I ain’t see no time, woah.”
Jigga was touring with Beyoncé when he recorded his verse and intended to submit it following one of their shows. Last year, Drake uploaded 100GB of content online, which contained unreleased music and behind-the-scenes footage from the studio. In one clip, Drizzy tells producer Noah ’40’ Shebib that he’ll take a two-hour power nap to be available for any questions Jay might have.
Jay-Z’s longtime engineer, Young Guru, came across the footage and detailed the crazy night he had involving his verse. Guru, who was DJing the rapper’s show that night, was randomly asked to build a recording studio in the music venue.
“We are on [the On the Run II Tour],” he began. “Remember, I’m the DJ. Hov hit me and simply said, ‘Set up a studio in the venue.’ I’m like, ‘What?’ But, of course, I get it done. We go out and do a two-hour show. Mind you, he has to remember every verse from every album. No backing tracks.”
Guru was put to the task despite not only DJing the show, but also being booked for an afterparty. “I’m DJing, I can’t miss a cue or [musical director Omar Edwards] would kill me,” he explained. “We finish the show. We go back in the room to finish the verse, but the problem is I have an afterparty. I can’t [remember] what city or country in Europe, but understand, my parties have been set up months before the tour.”
He made it to the nightclub just in time for his set, shortly after sending Jay’s verse over to 40, using his phone as a hotspot for his laptop. “The promotor waited in [the] parking lot for two hours and I can’t tell him why I’m late,” he said. “By the time Hov finished, the internet that we set up from Live Nation is gone.
“Everyone is gone. I had to tether my phone to my computer to send the session to 40. I made it to the club just in time for my set. When y’all hear this work, I sometimes wonder if you understand how much goes into it!!!! Classic Nights!!!! And I killed my set lol.”
This isn’t the only time Drake and Jay-Z have collaborated. They teamed up on ‘Off That’ from The Blueprint 3 in 2009, followed by ‘Light Up’ off Thank Me Later in 2010, ‘Pound Cake/Paris Morton Music 2’ from Nothing Was the Same in 2013, and ‘Love All’ off Certified Lover Boy in 2021.