Jay-Z and R Kelly worked together extensively in the early-2000s. As the top rapper, Jay-Z (real name Shawn Carter) sought to work alongside the biggest R’n’B artist in the US, and in alongside the vocalist the Brooklyn emcee released two projects, The Best Of Both Worlds in 2002 and Unfinished Business in 2004.
In 2004, the pair went on tour together. However, it has since been unveiled that following the tour, Kelly was under the impression that Jay-Z wanted to kill him. According to the vocalist, when he left the stage, he was met by an array of hoodlums pointing guns at him. Furthermore, he claimed that he got pepper-sprayed by Jay-Z’s close friend, Def Jam exec Tyran’ Ty Ty’ Smith.
After a series of similar altercations, Kelly got dropped from the tour but pursued a lawsuit to sue Jay-Z for breach of contract, seeking $75million, but the singer was unsuccessful in proving that Carter was attempting to kill him. Following these allegations, in 2004, Jay-Z dissed R Kelly on a remix of one of the year’s hottest records.
In 2004, for his seventh album, R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece, Snoop Dogg teamed up with Pharrell Williams, and together, they created a club anthem ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’ and, following its success, the pair called upon Jay-Z for an exclusive remix.
The remix hears a new beat with Snoop only on the chorus. However, after Pharrell’s verse, Jay-Z takes some jabs at R. Kelly by talking about a man who had to leave a stage and is now taking him to court.
Indirectly addressing Kelly, Carter raps, “It’s Jizz-ay, homey, you got pizz-ayed / Take it like a man, the flow ran you off the stizz-age / Wasting your time trying to sue S Dot / Tell your lawyer to take the civil case and drop it like it’s hot.”
The track featuring Pharrell and Jay was leaked and, therefore, never got an official release. For the majority of 2004, Jay-Z was on tour following the release of The Black Album. In May, Hov released his Fade to Black DVD. You can hear the ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’ remix below.
