What It Feels Like

"What It Feels Like" is a song by Nipsey Hussle and Jay-Z from the soundtrack to the 2021 biographical film, Judas and the Black Messiah.Ihaza, Jeff and Ehrlich, Brenna (Feburary 12, 2021). "Listen to Jay-Z's Collaboration With the Late Nipsey Hussle: 'What It Feels Like'". Rolling Stone. It is their first collaboration together, which was revealed on February 9, 2021, in promotion of the film."Judas and the Black Messiah (@JATBMFilm)". Twitter. February 9, 2021. Nipsey's verse was penned in 2013, while Hov's verse was created for the film.Eustice, Kyle (February 14, 2021). "Nipsey Hussle's Verse for Jay-Z Collab 'What It Feels Like' Is Actually 8 Years Old". HipHopDX"'.
Keys lamented to GQ, "Nip always wanted a song with [Jay-Z]." While the late rapper wanted Jay-Z on "Rap N***as," this never happened, as he believed "when the time comes, it'll happen."Tharpe, Frazier (February 12, 2021). "How Jay-Z and Nipsey Hussle Finally Came Together for a Classic Track". GQ.
== Background ==
The track remained in the archives for "almost eight years," where co-producer Mike of Mike & Keys revealed that Nipsey initially didn't like the song. Keys added, "When Nipsey says [on the song] 'Drop another mixtape, my shit booming out this bitch,' he was talking about Crenshaw." Larrance Dopson revealed that it was a 2013 beat, 2015 was when they added horns, and in 2017, they added the strings. A&R Matthew "M80" Markoff stated in concerns to licensing, "The [track] just provided my verse licensing business with the greatest form of validation the world has ever known. For those of you who don't know, the Nipsey verse is 8 years old and was a feature from a Tito Lopez record."
Not too long after the soundtrack's release, Lopez addressed online that the verse was made for one of his own songs. Mike & Keys clarified this situation to HipHopDX. Mike explained, "it was originally for the Mike & Keys album, so that was our personal song that we did with Nipsey, actually one of our first songs we did with Nipsey. This was 2012. To be honest with you, there are a lot of people who have verses on that beat. Tito wasn't the only person. There's like four or five other people who rapped on that beat. Like I said, that beat is from 2012. Tito was trying to get on the song because Nipsey was on it from the jump, but that was never his song. If he did a version to it, we never had it or heard it." He added, "Tito had an original hook in there, but we took it out. He was not part of the record. No disrespect, he's our friend, but he has nothing to do with what we created. We've been holding on to this for a long time for a reason. We always want to be known for actually making it happen."Eustice, Kyle (February 18, 2021). "Nipsey Hussle Producers Mike & Keys Set the Record Straight Over Tito Lopez's 'What It Feels Like' Claim". HipHopDX.
== Critical reception ==
Pitchfork critiqued, "JAY-Z's acerbic bars on the Capitol Riot are jolting. But they soon lose credibility when backed up by tired motifs of opulence and braggadocio from the former's 'condos in different time zones' to the latter claiming himself as a 'black messiah' despite his open embrace of capitalism. A newly released Nipsey verse might've saved 'What It Feels Like' were it not eight years old and obviously unrelated to the project."Kariisa, Jessica (February 18, 2021). "Judas and the Black Messiah: The Inspired Album by Various Artists". Pitchfork. The New York Times wrote, "The song warns that success turns Blacks into targets [...] to the inadequate police response to the insurrection on Jan. 6..." and described the song as a combination of "memorial and news flash."Pareles, Jon (February 24, 2021). "History Meets the Present on the 'Judas and the Black Messiah' Album". The New York Times. RapReviews.com summarized in their review, "the late Nipsey Hussle tells us the reality of being a Black man in America with an assist from Jay-Z...""Judas and the Black Messiah :: The Inspired Soundtrack". RapReviews.com. July 13, 2021.
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== Lyrics ==
== References ==
Category:2021 songs
Category:Collaboration songs
Category:Explicit songs
Category:Singles
Category:Songs
Category:Soundtrack songs