September 04, 2022
Exclusive – JAY-Z’s verse on DJ Khaled’s “GOD DID” track prompted a nearly 12-minute breakdown from MSNBC‘s Hip Hop-quoting anchor Ari Melber — and now, it’s been released on Hov’s official accounts on Apple Music, Spotify and TIDAL.
The track — which popped up on Friday (September 2) as “HOV DID” — is simply a straight replay of Melber’s acutely detailed dissection.
“As a journalist, I report on and interview many artists,” Melber told HipHopDX. “But seeing JAY-Z release our report on his verse as a track is definitely a first — and an honor. JAY-Z sharing the segment with listeners also elevates the context for posterity — turning a Beat report into a kind of audio guide to accompany his dense, amazing verse about his life, and the arbitrariness of the drug war.”
He continued, “And as Jay might say, he sampled my voice, and turned it to ‘a hot song.’ As for whether I was using my voice right, that’s for others to decide.”
JAY-Z briefly spoke to Melber during a Twitter Spaces conversation last week, which the Cornell Law School grad tweeted about. He also changed his Twitter handle to “The Reporter” after Jay initially referred to him that way in a tweet thanking LeBron James for the love on the verse.
“NEW: Jay-Z on The Beat’s report about his poem/verse: ‘Ari, that was an amazing piece,'” he wrote. “‘When somebody break it down in that way, we all feel seen…I got calls from everybody – We needed that right there…’”
NEW: Jay-Z on The Beat’s report about his poem/verse:
“Ari, that was an amazing piece… When somebody break it down in that way, we all feel seen…
I got calls from everybody – ‘We needed that right there…’”https://t.co/BNVW3c2472
— The Beat with Ari Melber on MSNBC ???? (@TheBeatWithAri) September 1, 2022
My only goal is to make the real “ones” feel seen , forgive me that’s my passion talking ….. haa . https://t.co/yRzFlyie3f
— Mr. Carter (@sc) August 31, 2022