Kanye West & JAY-Z's "No Church In The Wild" Earned Guitarist More Money Than He Made In 50 Year Career

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Jay-Z and Kanye West (Photo by Theo Wargo/WireImage for Hot 97)
Phil Manzanera struck gold with "No Church in the Wild."

Former Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera says he made more money from Kanye West and JAY-Z's "No Church in the Wild" than he did in an entire 50-year career with the group. He reflected on the collaboration in his new memoir, Revolución to Roxy.

“'No Church in the Wild' was the first track [of Watch the Throne], with my guitar riff playing throughout the whole song and included vocals by Frank Ocean and The-Dream,” Manzanera wrote in an excerpt shared in iNews. “The album went gold in the UK and Italy, and platinum in the United States and Denmark. It was used in the trailer and in a scene in the film The Great Gatsby, was in an advertisement for Audi cars, and in another TV ad for Dodge Dart which ran in the half-time break of the Super Bowl.”

Kanye West & JAY-Z Perform At Made In America Festival

PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 01: Jay-Z and Kanye West perform during the Budweiser Made In America Festival Benefiting The United Way - Day 1 at Benjamin Franklin Parkway on September 1, 2012 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)

He continued: “Who knew that I would earn more money from a short guitar riff that I wrote one evening on a sofa in front of the telly in 1978 than I ever earned in the entire 50 years as a member of Roxy Music? Thank you, Kanye West, thank you Jay-Z, thank you Virgin and Universal, and thank you to the capricious mistress that is rock’n’roll.” JAY-Z and Kanye West released "No Church in the Wild" on their iconic collaborative album, Watch the Throne. Revisit the song below.

Phil Manzanera Contributes Guitar Sample For JAY-Z & Kanye West's "No Church In The Wild"

"No Church in the Wild" isn't the only hit song from Watch the Throne. Their other single, “N****s In Paris," recently reached diamond certification with the Recording Industry of America. Be on the lookout for further updates on Kanye West and JAY-Z on HotNewHipHop.

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About The Author
Cole Blake is a current staff writer at HotNewHipHop based out of New York City. He began writing for the site as an intern back in 2018 while finishing his B.A. in Journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s covered a number of breaking stories for HNHH. These include the ongoing YSL RICO trial, the allegations surrounding Diddy, and much more. His work also extends outside of hip-hop, having written extensively about a myriad of topics including politics, sports, and pop culture. He’s attended several music festivals to provide coverage for the site as well, such as Rolling Loud and Governors Ball.
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