DJ and producer Steve Aoki remembers being invited by Drake to mix the collaboration of “the biggest rappers ever”, the track that has never been released.
The story started in 2006 when Aoki got a call from Kanye, who wanted his advice and rapped a capella over the phone. That was an unusual experience, and later it came back with an unexpected twist. This is how the producer told it to “In Depth” host Graham Bensinger:
Drake pulls next to me, like, “Yo, Aoki!”. I didn’t realise it was Drake, I was on my Blackberry. We started talking, and I was like, “Yo, I would like to do music with you, anything, remix or whatever. Whatever you need! He was like, “Talk to my guy”. I talked to his guy, and he was like, “Hey, we’ve got this record coming out. Want to try remixing it?” We got each other contacts, and he sent me the stems. I’m listening, and I’m like, holy shit! It’s Drake, it’s Eminem, it’s Lil Wayne, and it’s Kanye West on this track. The biggest rappers not only of that time but probably ever. I can remix the biggest voices of my career. And I have the opportunity, I am gonna do it. I listen to Kanye’s verse — and it’s the same he was singing me over the phone. How crazy is that? What a small world. I finished the track, sent it back. It never actually ever came out. It just wasn’t that good. Sad to say, but that’s life.
Steve Aoki did not name the rack, but it is not difficult to recognise this historic 2009 joint that Jay-Z called the best posse cut of the decade. Looks like Aoki had a shot at working on “Forever”, and the track that has never been released is a remix, not the original collaboration. The song has never got an official remix but inspired many rappers to work it in their music.
Watch Steve Aoki talking about his experience below:
