Young Guru Reveals Riveting Backstory of JAY-Z’s Verse on Drake’s “Talk Up”

Young Guru has offered insights into JAY-Z’s appearance on Drake’s 2018 release “Talk Up,” disclosing that the verse was delivered under pressing circumstances.

On August 7, the well-regarded engineer responded to a social media post by journalist Elliott Wilson. This post included a video clip of Drake and his OVO team eagerly awaiting JAY-Z’s verse for Drake’s Scorpion album. In the clip, Drake, producer Noah “40” Shebib, and others exhibit a mixture of excitement and nervousness as they await the files with a tight deadline looming.

In the comments, Young Guru recounted the sequence of events that culminated in the high-profile collaboration between Drake and JAY-Z. “We are on [the On the Run II Tour],” recalled the long-time Roc-A-Fella collaborator. He added, “Remember I’m the DJ. Hov hit me and simply said, ‘Set up a studio in the venue.’ I’m like, ‘What?’ But, of course, I get it done.”

According to Young Guru, he was at the boards while JAY-Z performed a two-hour show. “We go out and do a two-hour show. Mind you, he has to remember every verse from every album. No backing tracks. I’m DJing, I can’t miss a cue or [musical director Omar Edwards] would kill me. We finish the show.”

The Howard University alum faced additional pressure as he had previously committed to a DJ gig at a club. “We go back in the room to finish the verse, but the problem is I have an afterparty. I can’t [remember] what city or country in Europe, but understand, my parties have been set up months before the tour,” explained Guru.

Young Guru encountered a significant challenge when he discovered there was no wired internet access. He had to use his cell phone as a hotspot to send the files to Drake’s team. “The promotor waited in [the] parking lot for two hours and I can’t tell him why I’m late,” he remembered. “By the time Hov finished, the Internet that we set up from Live Nation is gone. Everyone is gone. I had to tether my phone to my computer to send the session to [Drake’s producer Noah ‘40’ Shebib]. I made it to the club just in time for my set.”

Young Guru expressed his hopes that fans would appreciate the effort he and his team put into delivering high-quality music. “When y’all hear this work I sometimes wonder if you understand how much goes into it!!!! Classic Nights!!!! And I killed my set lol.”

Source: X