January 06, 2021

Jay-Z "Dead Presidents III" (Prod. by Young Guru)


During the American Gangster recording sessions, Jay-Z laid the vocals for "Dead Presidents III." An unfinished version of the track hit the web in 2007, but during a webchat with Hov in 2013, a fan questioned him about the track and if it was ever completed, to which he gave permission for Just Blaze and Young Guru to let it leak. Guru obliged and leaked a version with some additional bars and touched-up production (Just Blaze found the sample, and Guru made the beat), but the version you hear below is all there is of "Dead Presidents III." As to why, Just Blaze added that "DP3 had 2 verses, one of which got used on another record... So there's only that 1 verse. Sorry." He also adds that the verse has been out for years and was on a Green Lantern mixtape. Oh and "Google is your friend," just to add some snark. It's now 8 years later and I still go back to listen to the track every now and again. If you searched and found this link, maybe Google is your friend. Photo by Jamil GS.