Jay-Z: Lyrical Flow, ‘Reasonable Doubt,’ Biggie, & More

Jay-Z: Lyrical Flow, ‘Reasonable Doubt,’ Biggie, & More

The first time I wrote a rhyme that I thought I could do it was I’m the king of hip hop renewed like the Reebok the key in the lock with words so provocative as long as I live I’ll be When I caught that pocket I was like oh I got this. >> [music] [music] >> My early years I had a big green notebook.

 My mommy got me this notebook and I would just write and you be sideways and slant it and just like a a mess. And I was writing really small cuz I didn’t want anybody to read what I was writing. In my teenage years I got I moved further away from the house. And as I moved further away from the house it was hard to like hold these things.

 I had to retain these thoughts. I just I didn’t write anymore in that little green notebook. I wish I had it man. I’m really really I didn’t I never kept up with things. >> [music] >> That that’s a whole different experience. I’ll tell you about that. The first time I made a demo Jazz and Big Daddy Kane in Brooklyn were the two guys at that moment and the connector was Fresh Gordon.

You know Fresh Gordon is? >> I don’t know cuz I’ve read it I’ve read about him. Oh okay. Fresh Gordon was a super connect. Everyone used to be in his house. Fresh Gordon actually really I believe did the Push It Beat and sold it for like $5,000. That’s the that’s the the folklore. I don’t know if it’s true.

 But but you go to Fresh Gordon house and Masta Ace D be there Pepa and then he had like a like all the computer equipment. His house was beautiful incredible incredible. So anyway in that house the two guys are going to meet up they was going to make a what do you call a mixtape now? And everyone was talking about you know all right yeah who’s that kid? And so Kane was like I want to work with work with you and I made a demo with Kane.

 And it was the first time I was like oh oh I can make songs. And I was in I played for my uncle he’s like man get that [ __ ] out of here. I was like I’m going to be better than LL Cool J. He’s like get the [ __ ] out of here. But my uncle loved me. He just he was protecting me in that moment the way he could cuz I was dreaming too big for him.

 He was like let me let me let you down it don’t happen like that in life. >> [music] >> After like so 96 all the material that’s on Reasonable Doubt was pretty much already like in my head. The thing about that album is the freedom in it and how naive I was. I didn’t know anything about the music business. I wasn’t trying to make the greatest song or you know Streets Is Watching the third verse is like 68 bars.

It’s not like 16 structured bars that I know is like be palatable for the audience. >> [music] [singing] >> What I was thinking during Reasonable Doubt was when my guys hear this it’s going to be like they’re going to their minds going to be blown because we just left Vegas and this tells the story about whole trip.

 They’re going to go crazy. This story that we just completed and now we’re back home they hand on wax. That was it. I was trying to make music for guys who were in the street and living just like us to have like a soundtrack to you know the emotions that we were dealing with not just like the highs not the Lexuses and things that was part of it yes.

 Like that’s the eye candy the Lexuses with the TV sets and then but the interior feelings and emotions was really what I was trying to accomplish as a writer. Like how do I go even deeper to like I’m going to tell you what you were thinking when you were doing it. Cuz it was it was exactly what I was thinking. I know exactly how you felt in that moment when you felt that paranoia or that exhilaration whatever it was.

>> [music] >> Most times I come up with the flow first. You may have heard like people like he does his Rain Man in studio cuz I’m like I’m trying to work out the pockets and then I’ll fill it with words. What Biggie had was a a jazz pocket that we didn’t really know we was listening to until later on.

 One of his neighbors was this like jazz musician who would take him to like shows and things like that. We knew Rakim was was you know come from a jazz background. Right so we understood the I got to tell every lyrical now I’m going to done da na na na na. So he’s he’s mimicking a horn. But Biggie was so unorthodox that it was like Jesus.

>> [music] >> These are see that’s that’s just jazz you know improv what he was doing. But I don’t come from a like a musical family like you know no instruments but it was just so much music in the house that it just was an innate in me to think musically as well as I thought lyrically. Even the first album when I didn’t know what I was doing I listened to those some of those those pockets and they all like melodic.

>> [music and singing] >> Yeah collaboration is important to me cuz I again it’s almost like another ingredient and let’s see how we can create a song that is authentic to all of us. The artist wants the other person to have a great performance because you want a great record. You don’t want to you don’t want to have a performance where you just you know your verse is just obliterating someone and then you know no one wants to hear that verse.

 That’s not good for the song itself. I’m a fan of songwriting so I want to know that the the outcome. I’m curious to see how you know how this going to turn out. You know what is Pimp C going to say on this beat? You know he didn’t like that beat in the beginning it was just like hey Jig man. Man that’s thing too fruity man. He thought he was making like the biggest commercial like sellout record and he took some convincing.

 He still did the song. We actually was really cool once we met each other. I think he had eight bars I’m not sure maybe 12. I think he had 12 bars. 12 bar verse that was like one of the most memorable verses on a song cuz we me and Bun is like it’s the big big thing we we just did a triplet flow to it. But he did the opposite.

 He wouldn’t even he he cut it in like I think quarter note whatever he cut it like small. >> [music] >> And I was like what is he doing? And then by the like fourth bar I was like oh my god. It’s just beautiful. Like on Brooklyn’s Finest I didn’t get to hear that till maybe a month later. So I did all those little parts. I’m saying what’s your name who shot you then Biggie filled those in.

 And when he was like in Face Off Twin she probably had two pops. And I was just like oh my god it’s such a good line. It’s just so good and it was just so he was one of those ones who ain’t run from like controversy whether it made him look bad or not. Like you know most people ego wouldn’t allow them to say that.

 And it was like one of them the endearing qualities that he had as a as a writer. You know black and ugly as ever and then the word one word was so powerful. However black and ugly as ever however anything he said after that was going to be amazing. Those are the little tricks as a writer that you know that you you everyone’s trying to accomplish.

 I don’t I can’t say everyone. That’s the that I’m trying to accomplish like when I’m writing is like just a word that just changes the framing of the thought in a powerful way in in the shortest amount of time. Cuz that’s hard to do. Like if you got unlimited you know God did verses I’m I’m going to hit on something because I’m writing through so many pockets.

 I’m going to hit on a a bunch of things. But if I got eight bars you know if you think about like fronting like that was a very condensed hard verse to write. You got eight bars to convey your thoughts and get out of there. >> [singing and music] >> You know those those is when you got to sit down and really just like you know make sure every measure counts.

That’s a challenge for the pen like when you creating for someone else and especially people that you respect. You know Dr. Dre I grew up obviously a fan of him and Snoop. You know this is Dr. Dre coming off you know leaving Death Row. I know where he was trying to go cuz I’ve been there a couple times with like Kingdom Come and those things.

 So he’s trying to make you know he’s like I’m I’m I’m leaving this place and I want to mature. So for me it was just natural to like get into his psyche. Like what is what would he be thinking right there? What would I be thinking? I would be thinking I have to remind people that I’m Dr. Dre. That’s where Still Dre come Still.

>> [music] >> It’s like a challenge for you as as a creator. For me that’s where I really thrive like when I’m challenged to like do a thing to make a word mean more. You use a triple entendre or quadruple entendre. That’s when I I feel like I’m in my best. You know you can pin yourself in the corner and say I’m going to write a song about you know alcohol.

And I’m going to just like find clever a lyrical exercise is a bad example. So now I’m just going to take all these references you know about bars and sit-ups and chin-ups and things and I’m going to make it make sense and it can’t be corny. >> [music] >> Almost like a cooking show. These are the ingredients I got to work with.

 I’m making this type of meal and I have these sort of things and I that’s it. You take one of your arms and you tie it behind your back. That’s a that’s a a challenge, but it’s a challenge as a writer that you you you relish and you want. 4:44 was I mean, it was the toughest thing I had to write.

 And not be not not not lyrically, not the greatest metaphors I’ve ever created, but like the vulnerability and the honesty and transparency, that’s hard. That’s a difficult thing. But to do it for the entire album and to sit in that and like talk about real subjects and real talk about, you know, how your kids are going to feel and, you know, at some point you going to have to sit down and speak to them and all these different topics, that was the most difficult album that I had to write.

 [ __ ] in Paris, um I think that um as a writer, those are like some of my best moments, the finest moments for me, most rewarding. I won’t say best. My most rewarding moments is to make something that people just dance into having a good time, but the theme of it is just like, “Wow, you know.” >> [music] >> It still has the connotation of racism in it, how people look at you and we know about the French relationship with Africa and the money and blah blah blah.

It’s a it’s a it’s a lot of deep things that’s happening at one time. You mentioned like story of O.J. is like this idea that once you’ve attained the success you’re a different person. Like you walk in as a different person. And I believe like O.J. got to a point where he thought he was bigger than race.

 And he was like, “No, I’m not black, I’m O.J.” And it was like, “Okay.” Right? Cuz the moment you’re not O.J. we going to see how that ends. Right? Whereas you know, myself, I show up as myself. And writing that in the song is just like there’s a responsibility that I have and I think everyone has this come from certain places where we come from that just comes with it.

That’s just the responsibility you carry. Like when you walk in the room, you ain’t walking in just just a solo you you you representing the history of what’s been done in this country. And it don’t have to be all loud. You know, it’s like every second of the day, but it’s there. It’s like air. The thing about Bey is she’s actually a underrated songwriter.

She really can write songs, but she does so much that I think what she gravitates towards is a producer. I think she I think she I think she likes songwriting. I’ve never asked this question. I’m going I’m going to ask her this question, but I think she likes songwriting, she loves producing. Because the things she does is unbelievable.

 It’s like she’ll hear a snare from a song that maybe we heard once a year ago where she’ll just pull a snare from somewhere or like take this song and mix it with this song and then put that bridge over here or you know, have a completely different song on a completely different beat and make it work for the whole other project.

 You know, I’m watching that like, “Wow, inspired by you know, what she’s doing.” And I never really thought about that, but I’m almost sure like she likes songwriting, she loves producing. Yeah. Remember, hip-hop was about the gift of discovery. That was it. When you went to school, you couldn’t have the person that it was already good.

 You have to say, “Yo, I got the new tape of somebody you never heard of and it’s and it and it actually told the story of you. That’s why hip-hop became so big because everyone wanted to feel those feelings. I tell people all the time, “Never fight against the future.” Future’s coming. Artists they were trying to recreate something that was already done.

 But they’re not connected to it like that. They’re not living it and breathing it. They were fighting against gravity as opposed to telling their story. We needed that other side. We needed to hear about what happens when you have four successful albums. What happens? What does that feeling like? How do you make the next one? How did you get in the studio? How are your kids? What like what how do you interact with them as this hip-hop dad? But if you trying to make young music and you’re not you know, you’re not young, it’s going to be

inauthentic and people could feel it. You could smell it. So the best thing anyone can do like going through through music is to tell a story and and and just keep creating from that space. I love what the Clipse are doing right now and how it’s authentic to them and they’re telling the story about their mom and dad who just passed away and how deep that is with John Legend singing on the chorus and like you know, everything that they’ve been through is an authentic display of piece of classic material that it could have came out 96 or come out

2026. It still feels the same because it’s real and it’s authentic to who they are. >> [music] >> After Black Album it was more so like, “What do I want to say and what do I have to say?” And what’s the challenge in the writing? Success hasn’t changed my approach to making music. I’ve always felt like my aspirations were ahead of um where I was currently.

 Even with all the success, I’m still like, “No, no, no, no. This is where we belong. This is our place.” I’m just 2 years ago it was like fighting with the NFL to put Dr. Dre on. Not fighting, but like convincing. It’s like, “Y’all 30 years too late.” Like this supposed to been happened. That emotion was from the first album to now.

That that that that fight to say we’re here. This is what we’re about. And we going to we going to get there and this is what we deserve. Like I said, those are the ingredients that go in the song. Whether it be about, you know, a big yacht or the Lexus, bragging about money, those are just props. Those That’s not the engine.

 That’s not the emotion that my music is running on. But once you get into the interior of the song, what you’re hearing is the same thing you you going to hear from you know, someone who has integrity, morality, questions about religion, questions about who you are as a man, relationships, your legacy, your children, the fears that they’re going to have, you know, um whatever karmic debt that you you put out there and and how, you know, that’s going to affect your family. Those are the real themes.

My locations have changed. But who I am and as a person and what I believe in, none of that’s changed. Things I believed to be true maybe young I don’t believe so much. You know, a lot of street codes and things like that may have messed with our emotional intelligence. You know, money over hoes, that’s a terrible concept.

It sound good. So yeah, some of those things change, but the the foundation of the struggle you know, our fight to be recognized in a country that doesn’t uh see us in that light, those themes and emotions I still try to convey them. >> [music]