Jay-Z and Eminem are slated to appear on a song from rap legend Rakim‘s forthcoming album, which will mark their first time on the same track in 25 years. The Grammy Award-winning rap icons’ last musical collaboration was in 2001, on “Renegade” from Jay-Z’s The Blueprint album.
The upcoming song, which is currently untitled, is set to appear on a forthcoming collaborative album pairing Rakim with Kurupt and Masta Killa, targeted for release on Aug. 28.
News of a reunion between Em and Hov surfaced on Sunday (June 7), when Matthew “M80” Markoff, JD, the A&R and executive producer of the album, shared a sneak peek at the track list of Rakim’s collaborative project in a post on Instagram.
Among the songs listed — all of them untitled and solely distinguished by numbers and features — is one labeled as the sixth track on the album, which has Eminem and Jay-Z’s names handwritten beside it.
“AOTY 2026,” Markoff, President of Holy Toledo Productions, declared in the caption of the post. “PUT SOME COT DAMN RESPEK ON MY NAME.”
Markoff confirms exclusively to Rolling Stone that the track featuring Jay-Z and Eminem will be an official release, and will be an interlude on Rakim, Kurupt, and Masta Killa’s album.
He adds that the interlude will find Hov and Em paying homage to Rakim’s legacy and influence, and will precede the first solo track by Rakim that features his own production in over 15 years.
“Em and Jay do not have verses on the interlude,” Markoff says, but he assures that the interlude, as well as other songs on the album, comprise relatively new material. “The entire album with all its parts were recorded in the past two years.”
Word of the track spread online, creating anticipation for its official release and reviving conversations surrounding Hov and Em’s classic back-and-forth on “Renegade,” their blockbuster collaboration from Jay-Z’s 2001 album, The Blueprint.
At the time of the release of “Renegade,” Jay-Z and Eminem were considered two of the most respected lyricists in hip-hop, making the moment more than a collaborative moment, but a test of their skills against one another.
In the wake of the song’s initial release, debate ensued regarding which artists had the superior performance on the song, despite both insisting that their approach was devoid of any competitive flair and was geared toward its theme and production.
Those conversations have continued decades later, a testament to its significance as a watershed moment for the genre.
In addition to Jay-Z and Eminem, Rakim, Kurupt, and Masta Killa’s forthcoming album will also include features from Snoop Dogg, KRS-One, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Buckshot, Daz Dillinger, and more. Rakim’s album will also include a posthumous executive production credit by Oliver “Power” Grant of Wu-Tang Clan.
The trio previously worked on “BE ILL,” the lead-single from Rakim’s 2024 album G.O.D.’s NETWORK – REB7RTH. Rakim, Kurupt, and Masta Killa’s upcoming collaborative album is slated to be available for preorder in July.
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