Jay-Z’s B-Sides concert was one for the books as legends like Nas joined the billionaire on stage at Webster Hall in April. The biggest shock of all happened to be the moment where Cam’Ron and Jay took the stage to perform the classic, “Welcome To New York City.” Thanks to Jim Jones, we have a bit of clarity on how the iconic music moment happened.
Speaking with Rap Radar’s Elliott Wilson and Brian “B. Dot” Miller, Jones shared how he was contacted about the show on what he believed to be a simple invite. The call ended up being a proposal for Jones and Cam’Ron to perform some of their biggest hits and an extension for Cam to perform “Welcome To New York City” with Jay.
“I got a call saying JAY about to do a special B-side concert,” Jones explained. “And I’m like ‘Cool, can I get some tickets? What’s up?’ I thought that was the call that he was pulling up. They like ‘Yo, he wants to perform Welcome to New York City.'”
Much like Memphis Bleek’s role on Jay hopping on the “All The Way Up Remix” for Fat Joe, Jones played the middle man and proposed the idea of performing with Jay to Cam.
“I’m just listening and in my mind, I’m like, ‘F**k it,'” he said. “I’m just asking a question [to Cam]. He’s going to say ‘Yeah’ or he’s going to say ‘No’. But in my mind, I’m like…if you know Cam this could…cause some s**t…or…might not even sweat it,” he explained.
“Right after I got the call I called him, I said ‘Yo, JAY is doing the B-Side concert, right?’ [Cam] like ‘Yeah.’ [And I say] ‘He trying to perform “Welcome to New York City” and they wanted me to know if maybe you might just want to perform. You know, I don’t know, you know I’m just trying to do what I do.’ He like, ‘Yeah run it. Let’s do it.'”
And the rest is history.
The song originally appeared on Cam’s third LP, Come Home With Me which also features a young Juelz Santana on the hook. Cam and Jay’s friction dates back to the early aughts, where an interesting six degrees of separation comes into play. The two shared an interview on 106 & Park together back in 2002, in the midst of their squabbles. Cam remained mum during the interview (weirdly no questions were tossed his way until the end) as Jay discussed his coming Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse album and the Best Of Both Worlds tour.
We’re glad the awkwardness has subsided and hip-hop heads could enjoy the iconic union. Jones is currently enjoying the positive reception to his latest project, El Capo.
Check out a clip of the Rap Radar interview below.
watch @jimjonescapo explain how cam’ron & #jayz reunited at b-sides2 concert. full video friday. #rapradarpodcast pic.twitter.com/cbdIIoPdY4
— brian b.dot™ miller (@bdotTM) June 3, 2019