Why Justin Timberlake Turned Down Working With Jay-Z
Jay-Z has collaborated with many, many artists, including “Selfish” singer Justin Timberlake. But there was a point when Jay-Z almost missed his chance on working with the NSYNC member.
Justin Timberlake was once no longer interested in collaborating with Jay-Z
If things turned out differently, the hit 2013 record “Suit & Tie” wouldn’t have been the first song Timberlake did with Jay-Z. Originally, Timberlake approached the prolific MC for a record a couple of years prior. But Jay-Z was busy then and reassured Timberlake they’d work together on another project. Timberlake, however, wasn’t sure he could accommodate his own schedule to work with Jay-Z again.
“Jay-Z has put out 11 albums, and I was talking about doing a collaboration with him, and he said, ‘I can’t do it right now, but I’ll get you on the next album,'” Timberlake once told Vanity Fair (via MTV News). “I was like, ‘No, man, I don’t work like that. This sounded good to me for you and me to do together, and if it doesn’t work, then I totally get it. But I won’t be putting an album out next year; these aren’t a dime a dozen to me.'”
But it seemed Timberlake and Jay-Z found common ground for “Suit & Tie” eventually. The hit record was for Timberlake’s comeback studio album, The 20/20 Experience, becoming both a critical and commercial success. Timberlake and Jay-Z also went on tour together, which the songwriter confided was a more than fun experience.
“It was unbelievable,” Timberlake once told The Breakfast Club (via Hip Hop DX). “For him, to kind of give me real creative license to put, musically, to put the show together and to trust me with that, it obviously meant a lot…It’s the best show I’ve ever been a part of.”
This popular Justin Timberlake and T.I. song was originally supposed to feature Jay-Z
Timberlake added another smash hit to his discography when he collaborated with T.I. on the hit 2006 record “My Love.” But Timerblake revealed that the record was initially Jay-Z’s to perform on. Jay-Z, however, had other commitments at the time, so he passed on the collaboration.
“I wanted to do a record with him on FutureSex/LoveSounds and he at that time had done a record with Beyonce, it was ‘Déjà Vu.’ And he said—respectfully, I can’t knock him for saying like I have this one feature,” Timberlake said. “I think he was working on his own music as well so he didn’t want to be on too many things. And I said, ‘I totally respect that. I’m obviously not gonna get into any domestic anything. That’s your wife.’ But the record was ‘My Love.’”
It all worked out in the end since T.I. was the perfect match for the track.
“And it ended up being an interesting blessing in disguise because I think Tip for that record — I mean, his verse is phenomenal,” he said.
Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z have a lot more hidden songs together
The first time Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake met was because of the rapper’s wife, Beyoncé. She was working on a record with Timberlake and producer Timbaland. Jay-Z happened to be there, and the mogul’s musical chemistry with Timberlake was instant.
“I was with Tim and we were working on stuff for Miss Beyonce,” Timberlake once said on 106 & Park (via Billboard). “And she made the mistake of letting Jay and I have another room at the studio. Actually, I don’t want to give too much away, but we’ve done a lot of songs together. So hopefully, those will find a way to see the light of day.”
