During a recent interview with CBS Mornings‘ Gayle King, Jay-Z recalled some of his final moments with The Notorious B.I.G. ahead of his death in 1997. According to the hitmaker, he played Biggie his In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 track “Streets Is Watching,” and he was a big fan. He reflected on the late icon’s reaction, which indicated that he knew how much of a success it would be.
As the duo made their way around Jay-Z’s NYC Book Of HOV exhibit, he gave King some insight to the significance of a few of his records. “This album was the streets’ favorite,” he said pointing to In My Lifetime, Vol. 1. “This album, I was trying to go into, like, the music business.”
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Jay-Z Recalls Biggie’s Reaction To “Streets Is Watching”
“The first song I made for this album was ‘Streets Is Watching.’ That was the last song I played for Biggie. He kept saying, ‘Play it again, play it again.’ I gave him the cassette,” he continued. “I’ll never forget — he looked back like, ‘The whole album gonna sound like this?’ It was almost like playful, but it was also almost like, ‘Man, he’s coming.’” Unfortunately, Biggie was no longer around when Jay-Z dropped the full album in November of 1997.
The following year, he spoke with MTV about how Biggie’s passing impacted his process of creating the LP. “I don’t have anyone to bounce off of, you understand? We bounced off each other like, ‘Oh that was cr*zy; I gotta make something crazier,’” he told the outlet. “When you don’t have that, you don’t have that gauge […] It’s just hard to adjust; you have to find other ways to motivate yourself.” What do you think of Jay-Z revealing the last song he ever played for Biggie before his passing? How do you feel about the late icon’s reaction to the track? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below, and keep an eye on HNHH for more updates.
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