Young Guru Calls Cap On Damon Dash’s Claim JAY-Z Stole Songs From Artists

Young Guru has refuted Damon Dash’s claims that JAY-Z stole several songs intended to be released by other artists throughout his career, particularly during their time together at Roc-A-Fella Records.

On Wednesday (Dec. 20), the renowned audio engineer took to X in an attempt to set the record straight on the creation of classic JAY-Z records such as his 2000 hit “I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)” and his breakout Rush Hour soundtrack cut, “Can I Get A…” in 1998.

“CAP on this narrative that jay STEALS songs,” Guru wrote in response to the clip of Dash airing his assertions. “1. Jay got ‘I just want to love you’ directly from Pharrell and made the song from scratch. Sparks says a Rick James hook. 2. ‘Can I get’ was Irv’s idea, literally said ‘Jay get on this record but please keep JA.’ I love you OG but nah.”

Another “stolen” JAY-Z track Guru explained the origins of is his freestyle to Joe Budden’s 2003 single “Pump It Up,” which he famously rapped over for a freestyle included on his 2003 mixtape The S. Carter Collection. As legend has it, JAY-Z passed on the beat before Roc-A-Fella producer Just Blaze gave the instrumental to Budden to use for his own self-titled debut.

“And while we are here ‘Pump it Up’ was for a mixtape,” he added. “That is what a mixtape was at the time. Rap over the hottest beats out. Everyone did that for mixtapes.”

Guru’s comments follow a recent appearance by Dame on The Gauds Show, during which he defended Cam’ron’s now notorious decision to remove JAY-Z’s verse that was intended to be on his 2002 single “Oh Boy.”

The Harlem native reasoned that Cam’s actions were an attempt to stop JAY-Z from capitalizing on the popularity of the song for his own gain. “Jay had a pattern of jacking ni**as records,” Dame told the host. “Jay has a [track] record of getting on a record after it gets hot and now he can perform that record and now it sounds like he made that record — that was his model … That’s f**ked up to the person that [made the song].”

Dash continued, adding “Ja Rule’s record ‘Can I Get A…,’ that was Ja Rule’s record. ‘I’m a hustler, baby!‘ [‘I Just Wanna Love U’], that was [Omillio] Sparks’ record. That’s the only reason why Sparks is on there, ’cause it was his record. So he does this thing where he says it’s your record, I’ll jump on and now it’s my record. It’s almost extortion.”

In addition to his recent statements, Dash has plunged back into the music scene, announcing 360, the forthcoming collaborative album with his band, The Black Guns, and Freeway.

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