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Just Blaze reveals how he stumbled upon vocals that Michael Jackson had recorded for one of Jay-Z’s greatest songs, which had been regarded as an “urban myth”.
The Grammy-nominated producer recently appeared as a guest for the latest episode of the Idea Generation series hosted by journalist Noah Callahan-Bever. As they talked, the discussion turned to what has been considered an urban legend in Hip-Hop – the fact that the legendary Michael Jackson had recorded vocals for Jay-Z’s smash hit “Girls, Girls, Girls”. Just Blaze confirmed that the vocals exist and how finding them surprised him as well.
“So Michael Jackson is on the Girls, Girls, Girls remix. The A version. And I never knew that,” he began. “I don’t know if I didn’t go to the studio that day. I thought it was an urban legend or something that Jay said like in jest one day or just was some kind of a myth. So one day I was looking for something on the server and I find this straight folder that says MJ vocals.”
Just Blaze then detailed what he found as he looked through the files from the recording sessions for Jackson’s “You Rock My World” remix from 2001 that he did with Jay-Z. “And I’m like MJ- don’t that mean Michael Jackson- oh whatever. And I’m thinking it’s probably stuff from- remember Jay had or remember they had the Rock My World- so I’m thinking it’s like takes from that session.”
He continued: “And I’m like I don’t think they recorded this at Baseline but let me take a listen and see what it is. And I realize as I’m listening to it, it’s him singing on Girls, Girls, Girls. And I’m like… it’s true. Like I never- the last 20 years- I just found it during quarantine. So all these years I’ve never known it was actually a real thing. And turns out the files had been sitting downstairs this entire time.”
The conversation with Callahan-Bever also covered how the first moniker Just Blaze was ever tagged with was “Just Hot”…which he turned down. “It came about during the Mase sessions actually. Super Sam and, rest in peace, Huddy Combs. They were like yo you gotta come up with a name. I was just DJ Just. They were like you can’t just be Just. You gotta be something better than that. I think it was Sam who was like yo, your name should be Just Hot. And I was like I am not naming myself Just Hot.”
Check out the entire Idea Generation episode below.
