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Jay-Z’s “Big Pimpin” was one of the biggest records of his career and while it featured UGK (Bun B and Pimp C), Pimp C actually had his reservations about getting on the track when he first heard it.
In an interview with R.O.A.D. podcast, former Roc-A-Fella A&R Kyambo “Hip-Hop” Joshua reveals that Pimp C actually wanted nothing to do with the song after he misinterpreted one of Jay-Z’s lines on the track. “He thought Jay was saying that he was playing with his d**k in the truck. So he’s like, ‘Man, I’m not getting on no song with another man talking bout playing with himself in the truck. Young Hov, you my boy, but, damn, what you trying to have me doing?’”
We can see why he’d think that at first listen, but you’d have to hear it again to see that Jay actually said: “‘Til I need a nut, ’til I need to beat the guts/ Then it’s ‘beep beep’ and I’m pickin’ ’em up/ Let ’em play with the d*ck in the truck.”
But aside from the misunderstanding, Pimp C’s relationship with the late-great Tupac Shakur had him hesitant to work with Jay as well. Tupac had dropped a few bars aimed at Jigga over his friendship with The Notorious B.I.G. saying that Pimp was “a big 2Pac fan and 2Pac had just passed away not too long ago. And he heard of something, I guess ’cause Pac said something about Jay. So [Pimp C] was like, ‘I’m not f*cking with him, ’cause Pac ain’t f*cking with him.’”
Fortunately though, Pimp eventually decided to hop on the track and Hip-Hop history was made as “Big Pimpin” went on to become a smash record and went platinum back in 2000. What an era that was.
Check out the full interview with Kyambo “Hip-Hop” Joshua below and let us know if “Big Pimpin” would’ve been as big a record as it was without Pimp C or UGK on the track.
