Mach-Hommy has recalled the time he blew JAY-Z’s mind with a guest verse he penned for Jay Electronica’s A Written Testimony, although the verse never made the final cut.
In an expansive cover story with The FADER, the Haitian-American rapper spoke at length about a wild studio experience he had with JAY-Z and Jay Electronica while the latter was working on his highly-anticipated debut album.
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While Mach was unsure why his guest appearance didn’t make the final cut, he detailed what it was like working in the studio at Hov’s lavish mansion alongside Jay Elec and Young Guru, and said at one point he was in his bag in a way that Hov really enjoyed.
“Fast forward, I’m in the lab with Jay, Gu, and my man Dred who came with me,” Mach said. “Guru is playing records off the upcoming album with Jay and Jay Elect. They had my favorite bottled water on deck, room temp, so that was cool.
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“We listened to a few tracks. Jay would chime in every now and again with some mix notes. Track after track he’s like Joaquin Phoenix’s character in Gladiator: thumbs up or thumbs down? Shit was surreal, in the moment.”
He continued: “After about an hour or so, Gu plays this one track. Then Jay is like, ‘Mach, you got something for this?’ Meanwhile, I can’t believe this n-gga HOV is asking me that?!? Like ‘N-gga, is the sky blue?’ Shit. Even at 3 in the morning, that motherfucker midnight blue, you know what I’m saying?”
Mach-Hommy went on to say that JAY-Z disappeared for over two hours while he crafted his verse. When he returned, the Griselda affiliate apparently blew Hov’s mind to the point his hat fell off his head.
“We get to my part,” Mach said. “He had the shit face going with the hand gestures and everything. About six or seven bars in, the n-gga JAY-Z’s Roc Nation hat flies back. I mean the hat flew. You hear me? Paper planes fresh off the tarmac. That way. ‘Mach, too much Mach, too much!'”
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As if impressing JAY-Z wasn’t crazy enough, Mach then said Beyoncé walked into the booth and asked to hear his rhymes for herself.
“Even I had no earthly idea what was about to happen, Beyoncé walks in,” he said. “So now, it’s Bey, Jay, Mach-Hommy, Young Guru, Alchemist, and my man Dred. Beyoncé is like, ‘Where’s the stuff you were talking about?’ She asked Gu to play certain records I was working on, the week prior, like two or three times in a row. What an experience!
“Now it was time for the pièce de résistance, the verse that I recorded earlier that day. At that moment, Gu’s about to press play, guess who walks in? Jay Elect enters. The record plays. Alchemist has another fit. Beyoncé infers, doesn’t inquire, ‘Y’all tryna hurt somebody.’ When she said that … that right there was the finest compliment of the day.”
He concluded: “How’s that for a studio session?”
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Jay Electronica’s A Written Testimony dropped on March 13, 2020 and was hailed as one of the best projects of the year by numerous publications. The album was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 2021 Grammy Awards, but lost to Tyler, The Creator’s Call Me If You Get Lost.
As for Mach-Hommy, he dropped off his new single “Olajuwon” with Tha God Fahim on Thursday (March 2).
Revisit Jay Electronica & JAY-Z’s “The Neverending Story” below.
