JAY-Z is reaching into the vault with an unreleased gem.
The Roc Nation mogul has unearthed the original version of his Justin Timberlake-assisted hit “Holy Grail.” The Grammy-winning single, which appeared on Hov’s 2013 album Magna Carta… Holy Grail, features vocals from The-Dream, who penned the track.
The unreleased version, which The-Dream debuted during his showdown with Sean Garrett on Instagram Live, features JAY-Z’s original lyrics over a stripped-down beat, while The-Dream supplies the soulful hook.
But despite Timberlake replacing him on the final version, The-Dream said he wasn’t mad. “I wasn’t tight – much respect to Justin Timberlake. I wasn’t tight at all,” he told TIDAL’s “Check In.” “However, I did feel that from the pain and what it meant for me… to voice that and to sing that… it just meant something.”
During the interview, he also teased more music with Jay Electronica, whom he collaborated with on A Written Testimony. “Jay Electronica called me right after ‘Holy Grail.’ He said, ‘I’m finna send you something right now.'”