Memphis Bleek is Holding Out Hopes for a Collaborative Project With JAY-Z

Memphis Bleek is still keeping hope alive for a collaborative project with JAY-Z. The former Roc-A-Fella rapper ran into TMZ at LAX over the weekend, where he discussed his intentions to persuade Hov to at least partner with him for an EP.

“I don’t think so. Hov too far gone, man! I was supposed to try this when he had $100 million, not a billion. When you got a billion, it’s hard to get you in the booth. Only his wife can do it,” Bleek admitted. In 2018, Hov and his wife, Beyoncé, released their debut collaborative LP, Everything Is Love. The couple has a storied history of working together, with their classics including “Crazy In Love,” “Upgrade U,” “Drunk In Love,” “Part II (On the Run)” and “Family Feud.”

Despite Hov possibly never entering the booth for another collaborative rap project again (he released Watch the Throne with Kanye West in 2011), Bleak, born Malik Deshawn Cox, remains persistent.

“Hold it ’cause I’m trying. I still send him joints, I get shot down like a clay pigeon,” he added. “But something gon’ stick one day, ya know? But if we could drop an EP together, that would be — c’mon, that would close off the whole trilogy of the ‘Coming of Age’ story. [Fans] need something classic.”

Cox has been friends with Hov since their upbringing in Brooklyn’s Marcy Projects. The two first collaborated on “Coming of Age” from JAY’s 1996 debut album, Reasonable Doubt, followed by “Coming of Age (Da Sequel)” on 1998’s Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life.

The 45-year-old went on to share that the 4:44 rapper will relocate his 40/40 Club from New York City’s Flatiron District to Midtown, with plans to open next summer. Until then, JAY-Z fans can still enjoy his Book of Hov exhibit at Brooklyn Library’s central location until the fall.