Just Blaze admits Hov’s ‘The Blueprint’ “happened so fast”
There have always been the popular myth that Jay-Z recorded his sixth studio album, The Blueprint, in just three days, and it happens to be close to the truth. During a recent interview on Idea Generation, producer Just Blaze confirmed that the better part of the iconic album was actually created in three days.
“The Blueprint happened so fast,” Just recalled. “You know, like, people always think it’s like an urban legend or myth that the album was done in three days, but the vast majority of it was. Jay walked in on a Friday like, ‘anybody got some beats?’. I just got a CD from Ye. He wasn’t scheduled to record, so I had nothing on stash for him. So it was like me going through the hard drive.”
It has long been rumored that Jay-Z’s 2001 hit “Girls, Girls, Girls” contained Michael Jackson’s vocals, well, Just Blaze confirms it. During a recent interview at Noah Callahan-Bever’s Idea Generation series, Blaze said he discovered MJ’s vocals on the record while on quarantine, 20 years after the track was released.
“So Michael Jackson is on the ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’ remix – the A version,” Just Blaze revealed. “And I never knew that. 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.”
He continued, “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.”
Just Blaze says “Girls, Girls, Girls” helped shape Jay-Z’s album The Blueprint
Iconic producer Just Blaze recently opened up about Ghostface Killah’s influence on Jay-Z’s “Girls, Girls, Girls,” and how the record became the structural skeleton for Hov’s sixth studio album, The Blueprint.
While explaining the relevance of Biz Markie, Slick Rick, and Q-Tip features on the song, Blaze revealed that he originally made the beat for Ghostface but ended becoming one of the first songs to be recorded for the project.
“The Blueprint is kind the culmination of what we were tryna figure out on [The Dynasty: Roc La Familia] and [Beanie Sigel‘s] The Reason,” he began. “Hip-Hop [Kyambo Joshua] will tell you himself, Ghostface was his favorite rapper. So we were all definitely influenced by Supreme Clientele, specifically. When we were in that chamber, I had actually made ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’ for Ghost; about a year and a half before The Blueprint was ever a thought, that beat was already done.”
“I remember Jay walking into the studio like, ‘Yo, I just got the CD from Ye, let’s go.’,” Blaze went on. “And I’m like, ‘What we doin?’ And he says, ‘We’re back to the soul music.’ So the first thing I think of is that Ghost beat. Ghost is my brother now. At the time, I didn’t have the link to Ghost. So, I could hold out and pray that I meet Ghost one day; or this is the chamber that Jay’s in right now, boom.”
“We wanted it to be familiar voices that, even at that time, were old school voices,” Blaze added about the features on the album. “And we wanted it to feel like Hip Hop. Because if you remember, we were just coming out of that keyboard beat phase. So it was definitely a conscious ode to a different time and a different sound.”
“Like, as that album started to take shape,” he explained, “we knew that we were about to change things sonically. So it wasn’t a coincidence that we got those three artists.”
New Jersey superproducer Just Blaze was born in 1978. Born Justin Gregory Smith, he’s made hits for Jay-Z, Beanie Sigel, Jadakiss, Usher, Saigon, and many more. He got his start with Mase and Harlem World and went on a major run with Roc-A-Fella and other east coast acts.
Just Blaze grew up in Paterson, NJ. He’s an avid gamer and porogrammer in addition to being CEO of Fort Knocks Entertainment. More recently, he’s produced for Jay Electronica, worked with Kendrick Lamar and Beyonce on her Lemonade project, and worked with Mac Miller, Vic Mensa, Lil Baby, and Westside Gunn.
Apple Music 1 will play several of the mixes to close the year
Streaming platform Apple Music is adding twenty-four exclusive DJ mixes including some from Hip Hop talents like DJ Drama, Just Blaze, and Kitty Ca$h as well as their peers from UK: Charli XCX, PinkPantheress, and Anz.
According to Allhiphop, Apple Music 1 will close the year by playing all the DJ mixes back to back. Additionally, Apple Music Hits will broadcast mixes from their in-house DJs like Just Blaze (5 pm PT), DJ Spinna (6 pm PT), Stretch and Bobbito (8 pm PT), and Kenny Dope (10 pm PT).
“This mix is a really small selection of some of my favorite tracks from this year. Lots of UK garage, lots of electro, breakbeat, hardcore – just various bits and bobs to get you in the mood for a big one,” British DJ Anz said. “We have music from the likes of UNIIQU3, Jubilee, and a few of the tracks I’ve released this year too. Thank you so much for rolling with me.”
Mac Miller released his mixtape “Best Day Ever” back in March 11, 2011. The mixtape’s eighth cut “All Around the World” was produced by Just Blaze but little do fans know that Just Blaze also sang background vocals on the song.
The song is about Mac Miller and his crew partying all over the world and enjoying fame and spotlight as well dealing with the life challenges that come their way. You can hear Just Blaze singing from 3:10.
