Jay-Z & Nas’ Unreleased First Collab Now Streaming With Shaq’s 1996 Album You Can’t Stop The Reign
The legendary Jay-Z/Nas feud erupted during the early days of file sharing, and there was an MP3 that got passed around a lot in that moment: A Jay/Nas collab that was supposedly called “Analyze This.” Back then, you couldn’t trust any of those dream collaborations, since they were usually the work of internet DJs mashing tracks up. As it turned out, “Analyze This” was a real song, though it had a different title. The song was really called “No Love Lost,” and it was supposed to be on a Shaquille O’Neal record. It’s finally officially come out.
Shaq released his debut album in 1993, right after his Rookie Of The Year season. People made a lot of jokes about Shaq’s rap career, but he was, at worst, a capable mic presence. He also had good taste. Over the years, Shaq made records with rappers like Dr. Dre, Method Man, Black Thought, Common, RZA, Snoop Dogg, Twista, Phife Dawg, Redman, Erick Sermon, and Keith Murray. In 1996, Shaq released his third album You Can’t Stop The Reign, and it had appearances from Biggie Smalls, Mobb Deep, Bobby Brown, Lord Tariq, Peter Gunz, and Jay-Z.
“No Love Lost,” the Trackmasters-produced Lord Tariq/Jay-Z collab from You Can’t Stop The Reign, was originally supposed to feature Nas, who recorded a verse but then apparently didn’t clear the verse for release. The song came out without the Nas verse, but You Can’t Stop The Reign has just appeared on streaming services with that Nas verse intact. (My man Andrew Barber broke the news of the impending release earlier this year.) The song has vintage performances from Reasonable Doubt-era Jay and It Was Written-era Nas, and it’s also got Shaq talking about spiking on that ass like Monica Seles and having more flavor than a Mystic. Versions of the track have been floating around the internet for decades, but you can hear the real one below.
Meanwhile, here’s the full You Can’t Stop The Reign album; maybe it’ll get a critical reevaluation.
You Can’t Stop The Reign is out now on Jersey Legends Productions.