Jeezy Reveals How His Ad-Libs Landed On Kanye West's "Can't Tell Me Nothing"

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Turns out the song was originally for T.I. and Jeezy but Kanye got his hands on it and turned it into a hit.

Jeezy's been in the game for nearly two decades. Although he might not be at the top of the rap game like he once was, he still gets respect from everybody in the game (except Gucci Mane & Freddie Gibbs) including Kanye West. The two have worked together on numerous occasions. Kanye featured on "Put On" while Jeezy contributed to "Amazing." But before that, you probably heard Jeezy on Kanye's mega-hit, "Can't Tell Me Nothing." Jeezy recently sat down with HipHopDX where he explained how his adlibs ended up on the track. 

As it turns out, "Can't Tell Me Nothing" was initially titled, "I Got Money" and was meant for Jeezy's album, The Recession. While the song was initially supposed to feature T.I., Jeezy sent the song to Kanye who laid down a verse. Kanye ended up getting ahold of the beat and tweaked it to include the famous vocal sample heard throughout the production. The thing is Jeezy had to turn the album over to his label two days later so Jeezy ultimately nixed the song from his project.

"Six months later, I'm in L.A. [Kanye] calls me, tells me, 'Come to the studio.' He wants to play me something," Jeezy recalled. Kanye ended up showing him "Can't Tell Me Nothing" which was essentially the exact same song that 'Ye sent Jeezy except it had an extra verse. Ultimately, Kanye needed Jeezy's blessing to keep the ad-libs and Jeezy gave 'Ye the stamp of approval. 

Peep the whole clip below. 


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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