Songfacts®:

• In an interview with MTV news, Jay-Z described this collaboration with Lil' Wayne as more of a conceptual song than a back-and-forth lyrical exercise: "[Wayne's camp] sent the record and it was done," Jay elaborated. "So it wasn't like a collaboration thing. It was done already. Gee [Roberson] and [Kyambo] 'Hip Hop' [Joshua], who came from Roc-A-Fella and went on to do great things - I'm very proud of them - manage Wayne. That whole thing came through them. It's more of a great record than a lyrical slugfest. It's more a creative, great record than 2 guys spitting."
• This samples The Beastie Boys "Hello Brooklyn," from their 1989 album Paul's Boutique. In the same interview Lil' Wayne said: "The song has a sample on there that says, 'Hello Brooklyn.' I made it so that I'm talking to a woman and the woman has the traits of the actual place [where the song is set]. I say, 'She love B.I.G. but she like Tupac, and every time I say, 'Jay-Z,' she say, 'It's the Roc.' Me not being from Brooklyn, I think it's cool because you always wanna know what an outsider thinks of your place."
• Lil' Wayne added that this track was actually intended for his album Tha Carter, Vol. 3. He said: "It was produced by my homeboy Big D a long time ago. Jay heard the song some type of way, and when he heard it, he said, 'Ask the homie if I can get this.' When I was asked the question, I told them it wasn't even a question - he's got it. Everybody in the world knows how I feel about Jay. He's the king, utmost respect."