“He said, ‘Okay, just keep playing it over and over again’”: Rick Rubin on Jay-Z’s insane ability to write lyrics off the cuff

When Rick Rubin released his 2023 book, The Creative Act: A Way of Being, it allowed readers a peek into his unconventional creative process. For some, his admission that he “knows noting about music” is divisive; some love Rubin’s free spirit, while others are more critical of his approach. However, some artists Rubin has worked with are a lot more private about their process – namely Jay-Z.

In a new eight-part HBO docu-series, JAŸ-Z IN 8, Rubin sits down with Jay-Z to unpack his 30 years in music. And the experience has made Rubin reflect on his own time working alongside the rapper. In a new appearance on Diary of a CEO, the producer recalls working with Jay-Z on his 2003 record, The Black Album, emphasising just how sharp Jay-Z’s lyrical mind is. “Jay-Z wrote in a way that no one else wrote,” he says.

In the studio, Rubin was astounded to find how Jay-Z could reel lyrics entirely off-the-cuff, essentially penning an entire track in his head. 99 Problems, for example, was never put down on paper – Jay-Z just thought about it for half an hour, and then went straight into the recording booth. “All the other rappers that I worked with spent a lot of time writing lyrics, and I never saw Jay write lyrics,” Rubin admits. “When I played him the beat for 99 Problems, he said, ‘okay, just keep playing it over and over again.’”

“He sat in the back of the room, and you could hear him mumbling and humming,” he continues. “After 20 or 30 minutes, he’s like, ‘okay, I got it’. Then he ran into the other room and did the first verse… He just remembered it.”

Of course, Jay-Z did a few takes to nail the flow, but those first lyrics were exactly what ended up on the iconic track. “He did several takes, and each of the takes, the words were the same, but the cadence was different,” Rubin says. “It was almost as if a saxophonist was playing a solo… [the player] knows how the solo goes, but every time [they] play it, [they] play a little different.”

After three takes, Jay-Z apparently decided that the second take was best. Verse one was done. “Then he sat back down and he did the same thing again about another half hour later [for the second verse],” Rubin explains. “He’s like, ‘let’s do the next one!’ It just happened in his mind. It’s a really unusual skill set… I don’t know how he can remember!”

Considering Jay-Z’s ability to conjure up timeless lyrical quips and genre-defining rap songs, Rubin is glad he’s finally shedding more light on Jay-Z the poet,. “[People] think of him as a billionaire businessman… most of what we think about him isn’t ‘poet’…” Rubin explains. “So I thought shedding light on the poet, the lyricist, the artistry of Jay-Z was a really interesting thing.”

While Jay-Z’s ability continues to confound Rubin, he’s done a decent job bewildering and aiding musicians over the years. Not only did he revitalising Johnny Cash’s career with 1994’s American Recordings, but he also explains that he had him meditating, too.

While some practices can’t be taught, Rubin lands on meditation as a key aid for artists to add to their process – because “spiritual connection” is a big part of creativity. “I meditated with Tom Petty and Johnny Cash and different artists before sessions,” he reveals. “That would be part of our practice. Red Hot Chili Peppers, we would sit and meditate together before sessions…. it’s probably the most profound thing I can mention. We’ll get to others, but [meditation] is one learnable, practicable action that really changed who I am.”

JAŸ-Z IN 8 is out now on HBO.