Swizz Beatz has been holding onto a massive posse cut called "Just Because" for the longest time.
To my recollection, the song in question, "Just Because" featuring Nas, Jadakiss, DMX, and Jay-Z over vintage Swizz Beatz production, was only heard on one occasion: during a heated beat battle involving him and Just Blaze. Those in attendance were asked to keep their lips sealed, out of respect to the originator.
Swizz Beatz has since revealed that he came close to releasing the song to the public. "Just Because" was part of the initial mockup he'd written for the POISON project, but in the end, he pulled the plug. He explained his decision on TIDAL’s Rap Radar podcast.
"Imagine if I put that record on this album, I don’t think a lot of songs would be getting the attention that they’re getting as a body of work," Swizz explained. "It took discipline, and I had to remove things on purpose…That would have been like the main thing on people’s lists."
It turns out, that at this point of his career, Swizz Beatz values album curation and artistic direction, more than anything else. It stands to reason, that the final draft POISON still boasted plenty of star power. Nevertheless, I do hope "Just Because" sees the light the day sometime soon. It would be a travesty if the song got lost in the mists of time.