V Vintage: Kanye West Dishes Gems On His 'Blueprint' Beat CD

In VIBE's 2004 Jay-Z cover, a pre-blown-up Kanye West—who produced The Blueprint's "Takeover," "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)," "Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)," "Never Change"—dishes out gems on being a part of Hov's unfading classic. 

"Diamond D, Pete Rock, RZA, and Primo were doing (soul samples) since a long time ago. We just helped bring that style back. The beat CD I gave Jay for The Blueprint had "Never CHange"; (State Property's) "Got Nowhere," which would've had Sade singing on it; the joint that is now Alicia Key's "You Don't Know My Name;" and "Heart of the CIty," which R. Kelly initially sang on. 

For "Heart of the City,"Jay came up with what he wanted to say in his head, as usual. In the studio, the "Fiesta (Remix)" video came on TV, and Jay walked into the booth, started recording, finished the entire song all the way to the outro, and came back in the studio. The video was still on. Those Blueprint records are all classics— I'm part of history."

→ The Blueprint Turns 10: VIBE Salutes Jay-Z's G.O.A.T. Album [Interviews, Essays & Debates]