Ghostface Killah has had quite the career spanning multiple decades, and while he’s achieved so much, there’s one moment that stands out above the rest.
The Wu-Tang rapper spoke to XXL for a brief Q&A published on Tuesday (August 13). Amid the handful of questions, Ghost was asked what his fondest rap memory is, and his answer was simple.
“Going on stage with Beyoncé,” he said.
The pair collaborated on a remix of Bey’s 2003 song “Summertime,” which they dueted on live several times, most famously at Madison Square Garden that November for a performance that showed up in the JAY-Z documentary Fade to Black the following year.
Back in June, Ghostface Killah stopped by Million Dollaz Worth of Game and at one point during the chat, recalled the time Hov came calling for money he was owed.
Reminiscing about the early days of Wu, Ghostface Killah began: “One time, RZA and [GZA] were telling me that Hov was on the list with us to do a show or whatever. We gave him some time … Long story short, n-ggas ain’t pay him the money.
“You know how Hov is. He wait. A few years down the line, and bring it up to one of the n-ggas. Like, ‘Yeah, remember that time you ain’t really pay me?’”
Pretty Toney and co-hosts Gillie Da Kid and Wallace Peeples then laughed about the now-billionaire never forgetting a debt.
The unpaid debt isn’t the only connection between JAY-Z and Wu-Tang Clan.
Last year, RZA sat down with Rolling Stone and shared a story about his influence on a young Hov.
“I think that what I did was necessary. I think that it was ordained,” he said. “One day, JAY-Z told me, ‘Yo, I got [the idea for] The Blueprint from you.’”
He continued: “At that time, I was headed to Hollywood already. Now, here’s a path, here’s a way it can work. And it continued to work in different regions of the country and with different crews.”