Steve 'Flash' JuonFew people in rap have ever seen their roles reversed as thoroughly as Jonathan Allen Burks and Shawn Carter. In the beginning when The Jaz dropped “Word to the Jaz” he was a rising rap star from the Marcy Projects flanked by his sidekick Jay-Z. Burks was generous to Carter, shouting him out on songs like “Pumpin” and encouraging him to make cameos throughout the album. Burks: “It’s time for Jay-Z to say something/a-give it up while the beat is still pumpin.” Carter: “Yo! This is pumpin! More than just a little somethin!”
The best remembered of their collaborations though would be Jaz’s single “Hawaiian Sophie,” a track which achieved modest success by rising to No. 18 on Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs chart. The accompanying music video is a piece of 1980’s cheesecake which is only enhanced by the low quality upload of the official version available online. You don’t have to look hard to determine who is the star and who is the supporting act here. Perhaps “generous” was the wrong word in the opening paragraph? Jaz clearly enjoys being in the spotlight and giving Jay-Z the punchlines to end a couple of bars only reflects the shine right back on him. I’m not even knocking the arrangement per se. It works just fine and neither one of them seemed to have a problem with it at the time.
Over time though Jaz failed to make the major breakthrough either he or his label were hoping for and he was dropped from his record deal. Burks made a seemingly natural transition to focusing on behind the scenes work in the music industry, helping shepherd the likes of The LOX and his own protege Jay into major label deals while also producing tracks for various rap acts. Even then he seemed rather confident about his place in rap history. He could have simply gone down in the annals of time as “the man behind the man behind the man,” a power broker in rap who used his Midas touch to turn other people gold. Even now his debut stands as a solid if slightly unremarkable piece of work.
Unfortunately the story took a hard right turn into bitter acrimony when his former protege started Roc-A-Fella Records and offered him a recording contract. I can see it both ways. Shawn thought he was doing his mentor a solid, showing him generosity in return for helping launch his career, using his newfound star and power broker status to give back. Jonathan thought it was a betrayal that the man he put on was suddenly calling the shots, and perhaps even more insulting given they had just collaborated on “Nigga What, Nigga Who (Originator 99),” a modern update of a song from early on in Jaz’s career. Either he didn’t like the money he was offered or the role reversal of being offered a hand instead of being the one giving it. The diss tracks got ugly quick.
Thankfully the shots on wax never manifested into real life bullets, and after a couple of decades of trading songs back and forth, the heat finally simmered down in the late 2010’s. Jaz and Jay-Z made their peace when Jonathan made a surprise appearance at a concert in 2017, then released a new EP with Jay’s help as a distributor, finally accepting the hand extended to help him nearly two decades ago. He’s since gone on to say in interviews that he’s “given his life to God,” seemingly an indication he’s no longer interested in being bitter or jealous that Shawn’s star rose higher than his ever did. At long last they can both focus on having “Fun” again.
“Yo Jay pass the Pringles, I want a bit
(Cake Jaz, cake Jaz, gimme some of it!)”
With an album cover that’s strikingly similar to LL Cool J’s and music that’s equally comparable to other New York rappers in 1989, “Word to the Jaz” is a product that’s incredibly of its time. Having lived through this era as a young rap fan shaped my perspective on it now massively, because I simply couldn’t have conceived of Jaz’s “Hawaiian Sophie” sidekick going on to become one of the most recognizable rap stars of all time, let alone one half of a power couple whose every decision shapes the cultural landscape. You could say that fate intervened on his behalf, OR you could say that Shawn simply hustled harder than his protege. As debuts go “Reasonable Doubt” had a hunger this album doesn’t. Jaz sounded content that he had already made it, but Jay sounded like a rapper who hadn’t eaten a single day in his life, Pringles or cake. It worked out the way it should’ve.