Pharrell and Jay-Z have worked together on a number of records throughout the years, so the Virginia producer knows first hand how Jay writes.
He spoke to producer Mark Ronson about it on The FADER Uncovered podcast and referenced the 2000 cut “I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)” to explain how the Brooklyn rapper constructs his rhymes.
[Instagram post not found]“When he writes, he’s just sitting there mumbling to himself in falsetto, by the way,” said Pharrell. “Yo, when he writes a rhyme, he doesn’t go, ‘Chyea, when the Remy’s in the system.' He doesn’t do that. He goes 'Yo, yo, when the Remy’s in the system/Ain’t no telling will I f*ck ’em? Will I diss ’em?/That’s what they be yellin’/I’m a pimp by blood’ [in a falsetto voice.]" And he taps you on the shoulder and takes it back again. He writes in falsetto.”
"That’s odd and different and weird and amazing," he added. "And makes him a character … I gotta ask him why he does that, I don’t know why he does it. But he’s always done that.”
What do you think about Jay's writing style?