Back when Cash Money had a lengthy roster that included everybody from Busta Rhymes to Paris Hilton, a collaboration between Busta and Drake happened — and it’s finally seeing the light of day.
Last referenced by Busta in a 2013 interview with Rolling Stone, the pair’s J. Dilla-produced track “Stay Down” surfaced online Wednesday (June 17). Drake holds down part of the hook duties on the track as well as the first verse – where he offers up a shout out to Boosie Badazz.
“Look I’m sorry that I’m super late,” he raps on his verse. “I was driving here jamming them Lil Boosie tapes.”
In the aforementioned interview, Busta revealed the late Dilla produced the beat they used but said the song was only partially done because of Drake’s busy schedule.
“I’ve had several conversations about doing records with Drake, we’ve actually been in the studio trying to fuck around,” he said. “It’s just hectic, hectic schedules. You can definitely look forward to something eventually coming together, us collaborating.
“I have something that’s actually halfway done with Drake on a J. Dilla beat. It’s incredible.”
Busta left Cash Money in 2014 before releasing an album on the prestigious label. His last album, Year Of The Dragon, was released two years prior through a pre-streaming Google Play experiment.
During a 2018 interview with Hot 97’s Ebro Darden via Apple Music, Busta essentially placed the blame on former label head Dr. Dre for his discography drought.
“Nine albums later, I’m working on an album for nine years,” Busta said at the time. “The album that I’m getting ready to release, I’ve been recording this shit since 2000 and fucking nine. I credit that patience to the Dr. Dre experience because when I was in Aftermath, this was the first time that I was stripped of all the memorabilia of my accolades and what I’ve accomplished and how great Busta Rhymes is; in my own head and from the people and from my fucking résumé.
“Dre be like, ‘Yo, you had a great one, but you want to do it different. You want to see new results, you gotta do it a new way. Welcome to Aftermath my nigga.’ I’m like, ‘What the fuck do this mean?’”