The iconic Busta Rhymes beat that was originally made for Eve: “Give me it now”
Swizz Beatz is one of the greatest hip-hop producers of all time. During the 2000s, due to his raw and rugged sound, he was in high demand, and his instrumentals were in the charts on a regular basis. The beatmaker worked with everyone during the noughties, but some of his earliest collaborations were with Eve.
The Bronx native began as a prodigy child DJ as part of Ruff Ryders Entertainment alongside DMX. However, the beatmaker didn’t start producing as a professional straight away. Still, when he did, Ruff Ryders was his launchpad.
Swizz Beatz’s family ran Ruff Ryders Entertainment. Both Joaquin and Darrin Dean are his uncles. That said, aside from the late legend DMX, Swizz got to work with Jadakiss, Sheek Louch, Styles P and, as mentioned, Eve.
Eve’s 2001 debut project, scorpion, is most known for spawning the hit single ‘Let Me Blow Ya Mind’. Although it was produced by Dr Dre, Swizz Beatz also contributed to the album by producing tracks such as ‘Got What You Need’, ‘Thug in the Street’ and ‘Gangsta Bitches’.
Swizz made iconic instrumentals for the emcee’s 2002 sophomore album Eve-Olution as well. Still, in 2005, while in the studio with Eve, the producer presented her with a beat that she unfortunately rejected. However, it landed straight in the lap of Busta Rhymes.
During an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music’s Beats 1 program, Swizz revealed the beat for ‘Touch It’ was made initially with Eve in mind. Opening up about the reaction the ‘Tambourine’ rhymer had to the instrumental, Swizz recalled, “She just wasn’t vibing on it at that particular moment, but Busta couldn’t wait to take it. ‘I’ll take it. Give me it now. What are we doing?’ He started doing this dance. It was over in 2.1 seconds. I knew it was over.”
Swizz admitted that the beat suited Busta perfectly and detailed how they created magic every time the pair worked together. Recalling their 1998 anthem ‘Tear Da Roof Off’, Swizz told Lowe, “Every time we’re together, we come up with different flows, even if you go back to ‘Tear Da Roof Off’, where he rapped to every drum pattern throughout the song. It was the first time anyone ever did that.”
Eve missed out on a massive song by rejecting the beat. The 2005 track from Busta Rhymes was an anthem. Based on a catchy sample from Daft Punk’s ‘Technologic,’ the sparsely produced and dark instrumental was extremely popular in clubs. Busta merely added fuel to the fire when he released a string of remixes featuring various hip-hop icons.
The beat, which features an impactful and jarring switch every four bars, is undeniably sinister and bass-heavy. ‘Touch It’ was released as the lead single for the Brooklyn rapper’s seventh studio album, The Big Bang, and reached number one on the UK Singles chart. However, this was the version that featured Busta alone.
The remix was far more successful in getting certified platinum by the RIAA. The track was so lethal it had four different remixes, one that features Mary J Blige, Rah Digga, Missy and Elliot, another that features Lloyd Banks and Papoose and a final that features DMX. However, the emcee (real name Trevor Smith) released an “ultimate remix” which featured all of the aforementioned artists.