February 16, 2022
Part one of Kanye West’s highly-anticipated jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy documentary arrived on Netflix on Wednesday (February 16).
For those who have to yet watch it, the streaming giant shared another new clip on YouTube that shows a young Kanye pitching himself to a Roc-A-Fella Records executive in the label’s New York City office back in 2002.
“Let me play you some stuff,” the young producer/rapper tells Chaka Pilgrim — a marketing executive who later became the President of JAY-Z’s Roc Nation — before playing her the original version of “All Falls Down” featuring a Lauryn Hill sample.
According to FakeShoreDrive‘s Andrew Barber, Kanye West and his manager at the time, John Monopoly, flew down to Miami in hot pursuit of Hill to clear the “Mystery of Iniquity” sample from her MTV Unplugged performance.
At first, the Fugees star gave Kanye her blessing, but then later retracted. That’s when Syleena Johnson stepped in at the last minute to sing the soulful chorus and save the day.
Kanye couldn’t get Lauryn Hill’s vocal sample cleared for “All Falls Down” so Ye & John Monopoly flew down to Miami & went door to door looking for her. She eventually cleared her vocals, then denied. Syleena Johnson came in at the literal last minute & re-sang it saving the song https://t.co/zDSb0U7MeT
— Andrew Barber (@fakeshoredrive) February 10, 2022