You heard. . .
Back in 1998, Def Jam Recordings had a plan to launch the mainstream careers of Jay-Z and DMX. At the time, Nas was the biggest selling artist from NY and was looking to hit the next phase of his career. None of the three rappers had any issues at the time, until more money started flooding into the game.
So, egos and jealousy got in the way of collaborations happening between a few parties. If you remember, AZ had a smaller role in the film, appearing at the barbershop shootout with Escobar for 20 seconds. Well, Jiggaman was originally intended to have a significant role on the film and it came very close to him signing on for the film.
However, this happened right at the moment Jay caught mainstream success with his “Hardknock Life” single for Life and Times Vol. 2. So, by finally gaining steam for music, Jay had to cut every endeavor off and focus on touring and extended promo.
Hype Williams understood this, as well as Def Jam, which they pushed him to finally live out his hustling dream of leaving that lifestyle behind – for good. Up until that time, every video shot and prop we saw, came out of Roc-a-Fella’s own pockets.
If it wasn’t for the Annie sample, Jay would’ve starred in the Belly movie with Nas and X. We’re not sure how the acting would’ve been, but it would’ve been insane for those three on camera together.