Jay-Z’s 30th anniversary celebration continues.
On Monday, March 2, the hip-hop mogul rereleased “N***a What, N***a Who (Originator 99)" on streaming services and vinyl. The Timbaland-produced track appeared on Jay’s 1999 album Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life and featured fellow NYC artist Amil and his mentor Jaz-O. The song is a sequel of sorts to the far less well-known 1990 fast-rapping Jay and Jaz duet “The Originators.”
The physical copies of the vinyl — available now on Hov’s website — include as a B-side “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” from 2003’s The Black Album, as well as a number of album tracks spanning from 1998 through 2013.
It’s no secret that Jay and Jaz have had a rocky history. The former spoke about their friendship in his 2010 book Decoded, saying he looked up to Jaz during their time in the projects.
“I connected with an older kid who had a reputation as the best rapper in Marcy,” Jay wrote. “Jaz was his name—and we started practicing our rhymes into a heavy-ass tape recorder with a makeshift mic attached.”
Hov’s first commercial appearances came on Jaz tracks like “The Originators” and 1989’s mocked-by-Nas “Hawaiian Sophie.” You can see a rediscovered photo of Jay-Z during his days as Jaz’s apprentice, and read the story behind it, here.
Jay and Jaz continued working together until the early 2000s, when a business dispute sparked a years-long fallout. The feud seemingly began after Jaz refused to sign with Jay’s Roc-a-Fella Records label, and it escalated with numerous diss tracks, like Jaz’s “Ova” record and Jay’s “What We Talkin' About” off The Blueprint 3.
“Tryna rewrite history, let's talk about facts,” Jay rapped in the latter cut. “Dame made millions, even Jaz made some scraps/He could've made more but he ain't sign his contract.”
The rappers publicly squashed their issues in late 2017, when Jaz attended Jay’s 4:44 Tour stop in Chicago. Roc Nation executive Emory Jones shared the reunion on Instagram, posting a photo of Jay and Jaz backstage at the United Center alongside producer No. I.D.
“Tonight going to be a special night Chitown,” Jones captioned the picture. “Few legends in the building.”
Cut to 2019, when Jaz officially joined the Roc Nation family. And, no, he didn’t join the label’s artist roster; his company, Kingz Kounty Media Group, inked a deal with Roc Nation's Equity Distribution.
The “N***a What, N***a Who (Originator 99)" rerelease comes as Jay approaches the 30th anniversary of his debut album, Reasonable Doubt. In support of the milestone, the rapper unleashed his 1996 track “Dead Presidents” on streaming services, as well as vinyl, cassette, and CD formats.