Three decades after his debut, Jay-Z is revisiting key chapters of his catalog with a measured sense of occasion. On March 2, he reissued “N***a What, N***a Who (Originator 99)” on streaming platforms and as a vinyl single, part of a broader acknowledgment of his 30 years in music. The track, produced by Timbaland, first appeared on 1999’s Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life and featured Amil and Jaz-O, the Brooklyn rapper who played a formative role in Jay-Z’s early career. Its subtitle nods to “The Originators,” a 1990 collaboration between the two that predated Jay-Z’s commercial breakthrough.
The new vinyl pressing includes “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” as a B-side, linking different eras of his output. The release also invites a renewed look at his complicated history with Jaz-O, a relationship that has moved from mentorship to estrangement and, eventually, reconciliation. In his memoir Decoded, Jay-Z reflected on their early days in the Marcy Houses: “I connected with an older kid who had a reputation as the best rapper in Marcy,” he wrote. “Jaz was his name—and we started practicing our rhymes into a heavy-ass tape recorder with a makeshift mic attached.”
From Fallout to Full Circle
Their partnership frayed in the early 2000s amid business disagreements, including Jaz-O’s decision not to sign with Roc-a-Fella Records. The tension surfaced in music, most notably when Jay-Z rapped on “What We Talkin’ About,” “Tryna rewrite history, let’s talk about facts,” adding, “Dame made millions, even Jaz made some scraps/He could’ve made more but he ain’t sign his contract.” The two later appeared together publicly during the 4:44 Tour in 2017, signaling a thaw. In 2019, Jaz-O entered a distribution partnership with Roc Nation through his company, Kingz Kounty Media Group.
The reissue of “N***a What, N***a Who (Originator 99)” coincides with the anniversary of Reasonable Doubt, released in 1996. Jay-Z has also made “Dead Presidents” available again across digital and physical formats. Together, the releases suggest not nostalgia so much as curation, a careful revisiting of the music that shaped one of hip-hop’s most enduring careers.
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