Jay-Z has released the original version of ‘Dead Presidents’ on streaming services for the first time. Check it out below.
It comes as part of the ongoing 30th anniversary celebrations for his debut album ‘Reasonable Doubt’.
Released 30 years ago on Friday (February 20), ‘Dead Presidents’ was the first single of the seminal rap LP.
Produced by Ski Beatz, the track was first released independently through Roc-A-Fella Records, but the original version didn’t make the final cut of the album, with its sequel, ‘Dead Presidents II’, instead being included, with different lyrics over the same production.
The track is built around a sample of Nas‘ ‘The World Is Yours’ and famously loops the line “I’m out for presidents to represent me” from Q-Tip’s 1994 remix of the song.
It has often been attributed as beginning the rivalry between the two New York rappers, which came to a head in 2001 when Jay-Z rapped on ‘Takeover’: “I sampled your voice, you was using it wrong/ You made it a hot line, I made it a hot song.”
Now, the original version is available on all major streaming platforms – including Tidal, Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Bandcamp, and more – for the first time ever.
The anniversary rollout also includes newly pressed vinyl, cassette and CD editions, which you can find here.
Listen below.
In other Jay-Z news, he’s currently in charge of the NFL Super Bowl halftime show, since his entertainment company Roc Nation joined forces with the NFL seven years ago. Under his leadership, he has helped put on memorable performances from Shakira and Jennifer Lopez, Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar and more.
This year, he selected Bad Bunny as the performer for the iconic slot, which has now been ranked as the fourth biggest in Super Bowl history with the musician pulling in 128.2million viewers.
Ahead of the Super Bowl slot, there was controversy over the decision to enlist Bad Bunny for the halftime show, with the singer coming under personal attack from the MAGA movement, and from Donald Trump, who called the decision “crazy” and claimed that he had “never heard” of him.
Jay-Z defended the decision to enlist Bad Bunny long before the Super Bowl halftime show took place, saying that he wasn’t fully convinced that there was genuine opposition to the Puerto Rican superstar taking to the stage.
When asked by a journalist “Why are people hating on” Bad Bunny being chosen, the rapper replied: “They love him. Don’t let them fool you.”
