The Jay Z Myth | Does He Really Do Verses In 1 Try? Does It Matter?

The Jay Z Myth | Does He Really Do Verses In 1 Try? Does It Matter?

I’m sure you have heard the rumor that Jay Z does all of his takes in 1 try. Since people hear things about how Jay Z does everything in 1 take, everyone thinks that is an important skill set to have and that it is actually vital or important.

You want the truth? It’s not important at all… unless you are trying to save tons of money in studio time.

And if people are recording their verses in 1 take, it is because they probably practiced it 20-30 times before even going in the studio.

When he did the album with Linkin Park there was behind the scenes footage of him taking a bunch of verse takes. What I’m saying is, someone as incredibly seasoned as Jay Z even does numerous takes. Why? Because they are perfectionist and know they do it better even if the 1st take would suffice.

It doesn’t matter if you do 1,000 takes because the ONLY take that people hear is the very last one you decide to go with. They don’t know you took 40 takes to get it right.

It is really and honestly that simple. You have no idea how many times your favorite artist like Jay Z re recorded their verses to get it just right.

Depending on your rap style, you may not even be able to record the verse all in one take. It may require punch ins that over lap other parts of the verse. It just depends on your style. Therefore the idea and Jay Z myth that you need to do it all in 1 take is just not logical.

Now there have been numerous times where Jay Z and myself have actually gotten the entire verse in 1 try and absolutely loved it and even kept it. It happens, I’m just saying it’s not a necessity. It doesn’t PROVE anything and honestly it’s not as impressive as having the best take for your song.

The benefit of your first take while recording a song is that you are the most excited and ready to record a verse and sometimes that helps you get it perfect. But other times you have to slowly adjust your vocal to the beat after listening back and realizing you want to change your tone or the way you say a word with more emphasis and other factors.

Even when I get the take I LOVE, I continue recording and doing more takes in various voices and flows just in case I find something better. You should never even settle for the first take, second take or even fifth take for that matter.

You should record them and just save them by moving them down to another track in your DAW (Digital Audio Workstation | ProTools) and mute it. Then refer back to it if you remember you liked that take better. More in the article below on the Jay Z myth.

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