Year: 1996
Album: Reasonable Doubt
Song(s): Politics As Usual & Feelin' It
Victim: Camp Lo

In 1996 producer Ski Beatz, then simply known as Ski, was simultaneously working on the albums Uptown Saturday Night for Camp Lo and Reasonable Doubt for Jay-Z. During the sessions he would play what Jay was working on for Camp Lo and what Camp Lo was working on for Jay. It seems Jay liked what he heard because he convinced Camp Lo to part ways with two of their tracks, "Politics As Usual" and "Feelin' It". In the case of "Feelin' It" Jay kept the same flow and hook that Camp Lo used.

Jay, however, was unsuccessful in getting Camp Lo to part with the beat for "Luchini".

Camp Lo - Feelin' It (Demo):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrHvVTxMR8A



Year: 1998
Album: Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life
Song(s): Can I Get A...
Victim: Ja Rule

Def Jam's newest artist at the time, Ja Rule, was working on his soon to be released debut album, Venni Vetti Vecci. During a session in which Jay was present he heard Ja Rule's version of Can I Get A..., which was said to be way more explicit in content. Jay convinced Ja to give him the record for his new album, Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life, arguing that Ja's album would take a long time to be released.

Ja agreed to give Jay the track, which Jay cleaned up and turned into a radio hit. He even allowed Ja to be featured on the single for exposure.



Year: 2000
Album: The Dynasty: Roc La Familia
Song(s): I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)
Victim: Sparks (of Oschino & Sparks)

Ok, not so much a beat jack as much jackin' a hook (which is why he's featured on the song). Listen to Sparks describe the full time jack move:

http://youtu.be/4jHIkvAn11Q?t=1m14s



Year: 2001
Album: The Blueprint
Song(s): Never Change
Victim: Payroll

Back in the early parts of this decade, when Kanye (West) was just a young up-and-coming producer, he produced a track for a rising Chicago “gangster” rapper (sorry, you know how I hate labels), by the name of Payroll, and that track became known as “Never Change”. A short while later an almost identical version of “Never Change” showed up on one of this decades biggest hip hop albums, Jay-Z’s The Blueprint. To add insult to injury, Kanye re-spit Payroll’s hook “I’m still fuckin’ with crime, cause Crime pays, Out hustlin’, same clothes for days”, bar for bar on Jigga’s version. Needless to say, Payroll was a little less than pleased when he heard his exact song, that he’d paid for, on a Jay-Z album. I guess what Jay-Z wants, Jay-Z gets. I just wonder if Jay knew anything about the Payroll version, and if he possibly mumbled something to Kanye about swiping the hook?

So you can consider Payroll as an uncredited inspiration and writer on, quite possibly, Jay-Z’s greatest album ever.

source: http://www.fakeshoredrive.com/2008/06/payroll-never-change-prod-by-kanye-west.html/

Payroll - Never Change:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RKOWrot5Eo



Year: 2001
Album: The Blueprint
Song(s): Renegade
Victim: Bad Meets Evil

“That record was actually made... We were starting to make that record. It was a situation where Jay had called me and I had another record that I wanted to present to him,” he told MTV News’ Sway. “At the time, we were recording on two-inch reels. What happened was there was a beat that I had an idea for me and Jay to do a song together. But the reel with the beat on it was in L.A., and I was in Detroit and Jay was on a deadline.”

Instead of whipping up a new beat, Em took out Royce’s verse to make room for Jay. “I kind of approached Jay like, ‘Yo what about this record? I already have this, it’s already here.’ And he was working a deadline. He was working on a real short window of time to get it done, so that was kind of how that record came about,” he continued. “I actually sent him the track and he put his verses on there and sent it back and I mixed it.”

source: http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.15220/title.eminem-details-how-jay-zs-renegade-originally-featured-royce-da-59



Year: 2006
Album: Kingdom Come
Song(s): Kingdom Come & Come On Baby
Victim: Saigon

"Jay-Z was jacking for beats baby," Saigon said. "We were working at Baseline (Studios) and we're like a close family. Jay would come around, pop up every now and again and me and Just (Blaze) were in there working hard. Just would give me a gang of beats at a time and every now and again one would come up missing. One I'd write to or really loved then the next thing you know, there'd be a big meeting and they'd say, 'Sai, we need to talk to you. You know that beat we had? The one you were loving? Yeah, big homie's got that now.' And you know big homie's Jay-Z. He did that to me about three or four times. 'Kingdom Come' was mine. 'Come On Baby' was mine, he took it, did his thing to it and then gave it back because he didn't want to use it," he explained. "He gave it back to me but was like, 'You can keep the verse I left on there.' So I was like cool, you know what I mean? That was a big homie move because you can't buy a Jay-Z verse. You can't go to Jay-Z and say, 'Hey, we got a hundred thousand for you to get on the record.' He'd wipe his ass with a hundred thousand dollars. That's why he said that line, 'You wanna be in the public, send your budget,' that means your whole recording budget. That means if you get him, there's no money for producers, studio time, nothing. Send your budget."

source: http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.13360/title.saigon-talks-jay-z-jacking-his-beats



Year: 2009
Album: The Blueprint 3
Song(s): Real As It Gets
Victim: Young Jeezy

"I’ma keep it real, it was a record that we did for Jeezy. Khaled sent him the record and when Jeezy heard it, he was blown away. He did the record, recorded it. He said “this is going to be my first single, so I’ma try to get Jay on it.”

…Jay heard the beat and was like ‘I need this.’ Who’s gonna tell Jay-Z no? Jeezy said ‘let it ride, let’s go’ and it’s the movie it is now.

- The Inkredibles’ manager DJ Nasty (one-half of We The Best Management)

source: http://nahright.com/news/2009/09/11/video-real-as-it-gets-was-jeezys-first-single/



Year: 2013
Album: Magna Carta... Holy Grail
Song(s): FuckWithMeYouKnowIGotIt
Victim: Rick Ross

Allhiphop: “Fuckwithmeyouknowigotit” was originally a Rick Ross track. How did it end up on Magna Carta Holy Grail?

Vinylz Talk: Basically, Rick Ross wanted Jay on a feature for his record, but I guess when Jay heard it he was like, “I need this for my album.” You know Ross is not going to say no to Jay.

source: http://allhiphop.com/2013/07/19/exclusive-vinylz-talks-working-with-jay-z-drake-boi-1da-and-his-new-obsession/