Just Blaze has confirmed there is indeed a Michael Jackson-assisted version of JAY-Z‘s 2001 hit “Girls, Girls, Girls” – a version the legendary producer himself didn’t know existed until nearly 20 years later.
Just appeared as a guest on the latest episode of the Bloomberg Originals series Idea Generation, released on Monday (March 13). While fans have always loved the MJ x Hov collab “Rock My World,” no one knew they also linked up on an A version of “Girls, Girls, Girls,” and Just revealed how he himself found out over the quarantine.
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“So Michael Jackson is on the ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’ remix – the A version,” he began. “And I never knew that. I don’t know if I didn’t go to the studio that day. I thought it was an urban legend or something that Jay said like in jest one day or just was some kind of a myth.”
He continued: “So one day I was looking for something on the server and I find this folder that says MJ vocals. And I’m like, ‘MJ? Don’t that mean Michael Jackson? Oh, whatever.’ And I’m thinking it’s probably stuff from – remember Jay had or remember they had the ‘Rock My World’? So I’m thinking it’s like, takes from that session. And I’m like, ‘I don’t think they recorded this at Baseline but let me take a listen and see what it is.'”
“And I realize as I’m listening to it, it’s him singing on ‘Girls, Girls, Girls.’ And I’m like, it’s true! Like I never…the last 20 years… I just found it during quarantine. So all these years, I’ve never known it was actually a real thing. And turns out the files had been sitting downstairs this entire time.”
Check out the full episode below. The “Girls, Girls, Girls” conversation happens around the 22:42 mark.
The revelation comes just under a year after the full version of JAY-Z’s iconic 2001 Summer Jam performance that featured a Michael Jackson cameo finally made its way online.
Fans have seen the historical moment before, but not as clear as this particular upload. The video also shows Hov performing “Takeover” on stage for the first time, where he put pictures of the late Prodigy of Mobb Deep as a young dancer on the Summer Jam screen. Jay also performed the second verse a capella, which the crowd exploded upon hearing him take shots at Nas.
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During a 2003 interview with MTV News, Jay described Michael Jackson’s appearance as a highlight in his career.
“It was actually easier [to set-up] than what people would think,” he said. “It wasn’t even difficult. I didn’t have to call a hundred times and babysit the situation.”
