Memphis Bleek is pressuring JAY-Z, a longtime buddy and collaborator, to contribute a verse to his upcoming song.
On Friday, July 12, Bleek released his new track “Bands Up,” and it’s becoming popular among fans.
“It may be @memphisbleek who takes Hov outside for a verse. One of his supporters responded on X on Monday, July 15, saying, “I know he heard that second half of bands up [fire emoji].”
Bleek shared the post after seeing it and saying, “I’m on his neck for one, trust me.”
JAY-Z and Memphis Bleek were childhood friends who grew up in Brooklyn’s Marcy Projects. Their friendship began with the song “Coming of Age,” which is from Hov’s 1996 first album Reasonable Doubt.T
he song, which was produced by Clark Kent, introduced their master-apprentice relationship, with Jigga teaching Bleek a lesson in hustling while exchanging rhymes with his adolescent protégé.
“Look, I’m making an album, and you can be on it, but you have to learn this song in a day,” I told him when I got close to him. “If you’re not learning it, you’re not on it,” Jay recollected in his book Decoded published in 2010.
“He examined the paper I gave him,” the speaker said. I had jotted down the verse in some chicken scratch for him. The following day, he arrived to my flat and proceeded to spit the entire thing as if he had been doing it all his life.
“Coming of Age (Da Sequel)” from Vol. 2 in 1998 was the duo’s interpretation of a sequel to the street tale. The Hard Knock Life. Additionally, a third part in the trilogy was never produced, despite Bleek continuing to be a presence on follow-up albums like Vol. 3—Life and Times of S. Carter, Roc La Familia: The Dynasty, and The Blueprint 2.
It’s safe to assume that Jigga’s musical mantra at this point in his life is quality over quantity given that it’s been seven years since his last solo release, 2017’s 4:44, which also happens to be the longest drought in his career to date. That being said, perhaps Bleek can at least get Jigga outside for a verse!
