During a conversation with fellow producer Cardo for Lucid Monday’s cover story, The Alchemist said he still wants to work with Jay-Z.
“Jay always been on my list. I’ve been saying it for 100 years,” the producer said, after claiming there’s not many artists left on his bucket list. “At this point, I hope it would be a mutual thing, like I would want to work with somebody that would wanna work with me. There’s a couple that’s brewing that’s like bucket list s–t for me that I hope happens. I still have hopes like that.”
While admitting Jay Electronica indirectly made the dream happen when he featured Jay on the Alchemist-produced song “The Neverending Story,” he still hasn’t made a beat specifically for the Brooklyn legend.
However, that collab almost happened back in 2001. During an appearance on the podcast A Waste of Time in 2015, the Los Angeles producer told hosts ItsTheReal he played the “We Gonna Make It” beat for Jay, but he passed on it. “I actually played him the ‘We Gonna Make It’ beat,” he said. “I was playing it for Hip-Hop and then he told Jay come in the room and he was just like, ‘Yeah, it’s dope,’ and just walked out, he just stuck his head in.” The beat was also offered to Nas, but eventually landed in the hands of Jadakiss.
He then said he ran into Jay at a popular New York City nightclub after Jada’s version blew up and the rapper had a message for him. “He leaned in my ear and was like, ‘Yo, when you gonna stop wasting them beats?’” he recalled. “And it was ill because it was very confident and he wasn’t trying to be funny, he was deada–. Like, that was the first thing he said to me. I looked at him and he was serious, it threw me for a loop.”
The Alchemist then said he suggested they go to the studio after the club to which Jay agreed to meet up at Baseline, but he never showed. “Got my drum machine, went over to Baseline… he did not show up.” However, that session ended with a placement on State Property’s second album The Chain Gang Vol. 2 with the song “Still in Effect” featuring Freeway and Neef.
Check out a clip from The Alchemist’s interview with Cardo below: