Jay-Z has spit over some of the best beats from top producers for almost 30 years, and has no problem passing on tracks from beatmaker pals such as Pharrell, Just Blaze, and Timbaland when the song just doesn’t’ feel right.
Fortunately, many of the songs Hov eventually passed on were sold to other rappers who went on to turn those beats into hit records, many of which defined their careers.
Check out seven records the son of Marcy passed to other artists below.
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"Woah!" - Black Rob
Producer Buckwild confirmed to Complex that the track was offered to Jay — and fellow ROC artists Memphis Bleek and Amil — before making it’s way to Black Rob, who loved the track and dropped “Woah!” as his debut single in 2000.
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"Still Not A Player (Remix)" - Big Pun
According to Roc-A-Fella’s former Head of A&R Kyambo “Hip Hop” Joshua, producer Knobody sent Hov the track first. The beat found it’s home with Pun, however, as the Joe-featured single far surpassed it’s “I’m Not A Player” predecessor and became arguably the late MC’s biggest record.
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"Lights, Camera, Action!" - Mr. Cheeks
Hip Hop also revealed that Hov passed on the beat that would eventually become Mr. Cheeks’ “Lights, Camera, Action!,” deeming the record “too slow” for his flow.
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"Pump It Up" - Joe Budden
During a 2010 interview, Just Blaze revealed that Jay, Beanie Sigel, and Freeway all passed on the beat that would eventually go to Joe Budden, who crafted it into his debut (and arguably still biggest) single, “Pump It Up.”
Jay did, however, hop on the remix of the dance-movie staple.
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"The Potion" - Ludacris
Jay-Z‘s 2004 documentary Fade To Black featured a fan-favorite scene of the rapper listening to beats from Timbaland, who offered up what would eventually become Ludacris record, “The Potion.”
During the session, he instead went with the Timbo track that would become his smash single, “Dirt Off Your Shoulder.”
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"We Gonna Make It" - Jadakiss
During his 2015 interview on A Waste of Time podcast with ItsTheReal, producer Alchemist recalled not only Hov turning down the track, but confirmed that Nas also chose to pass on the beat that would end up becoming Jada’s “We Gonna Make It” featuring his LOX brethren, Styles P.
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"I Ain't Heard Of That" - Slim Thug
Via NappyAfro, Slim Thug confirmed that the Neptunes-produced track originally belonged to Jay, who recorded a verse and the hook on an early version of the record before the Houston rapper dropped his own verses. Hov, however, never signed off on his contributions, allowing for Thugger to claim the track and add his fellow Texan, Bun B, to the song.