When Russ revealed the CHOMP 2 tracklist a couple of days ago, it seemed entirely too good to be true. The legendary rappers scattered throughout the 14-track follow up to 2020’s Chomp were plentiful, and were only elevated by an equally-insane stable of hip hop’s greatest producers.
From Snoop Dogg, Jadakiss, Styles P, Ghostface Killah, Westside Gunn and Conway the Machine, Big Sean, Joey Badass and Wale (among others) to Hit-Boy, Jake One, Alchemist, DJ Premier, Harry Fraud, Statik Selektah and 9th Wonder, CHOMP 2 features many of the biggest names in hip hop, and embody the spirit of the record Russ said was “just raps.”
Image via HNHH
However, arguably the most impressive guest appearance on the project is from Jay Electronica on “Top Of The World.”
Speaking with Apple Music’s Ebro Darden, Russ revealed that he unsuccessfully tried to secure a feature from the notoriously reclusive Electronica on the first Chomp mixtape, and broke down how he made it happen on the second.
“So, on the first CHOMP project, I was like, I want to get Jay Elec. And I was hitting up people that I knew could possibly get ahold of him. It didn’t end up happening,” Russ told Ebro. “So, when I’m working on CHOMP 2, I’m like, let me just send him a DM, thinking that Jay Electronica is probably never on Instagram. That’s my assumption. Just off of perception, right?”
“He hits me back instantly, instantly sends his number. He’s like let’s lock in. I was like, ‘what? This is all I had to do, was send you a DM?’,” he joked afterwards.
Also revealing that he sent Electronica every single record on CHOMP 2, Russ said that it was important to get the A Written Testimony rapper on the project, and that he knew exactly who else he wanted to appear alongside himself.
“I had the features in mind that I wanted to get. I knew I wanted to put together Big Sean, Wale and Joey. I knew I wanted to put together Cyhi and Lloyd Banks, and Conway and Ghostface. And I wanted a song with Jay Elec, wanted a song with Jadakiss,” he said. “So, it was really just getting the production, getting the songs right and me writing the verses.”
Check out CHOMP 2 here, and let us know what you think of Jay Elec’s feature on “Top Of The World” down in the comments.