What do you do when you have a hit song and you know it? You try to get one of the best rappers to ever grace the mic to drop off some bars and take the song to another level. But, when that rapper also is a great producer in the sense of knowing what a song needs, you might come to find out there’s no higher level for the song to reach.
This is exactly what happened when Ed Sheeran reached out to Jay-Z about a potential feature verse on arguably his biggest song to date, “Shape Of You”. Of course, at the time, Sheeran couldn’t confirm that the song would be as massive as we know it to be today, but he had a hunch that he had a hit on his hands. After hearing the song himself, Jay-Z also knew it to be true, which is exactly why he politely declined Ed’s request for a feature verse.
Ed says, “We were in touch. I sent him the song, and he said, ‘I don’t think the song needs a rap verse’. He was probably right. He’s got a very, very good ear. He usually gets things right. It was a very natural, respectful pass.”
Not many people are fortunate enough to get the coveted Jay-Z feature stamp of approval, but it’s almost more endearing for him to essentially say, “hey, this song is perfect as it is”. And the fact that he was right? That’s the cherry on top. Maybe we’ll hear the two make some magic in the future, but it won’t be on Ed’s forthcoming album due out May 5th as it’s reportedly a featureless effort.
