Jay-Z reportedly had a hand in bringing Chris Brown and Rihanna back together. The rapper heard a demo version of "Nobody's Business," the infamous Rihanna song that sees her and Chris Brown cooing their love to one another. According to a co-founder of Jay-Z's Roc Nation label, it was Hov himself who thought the duet was a good idea.
Rihanna is on the cover of Complex's February/March issue, and spends much of the interview describing how good she is at not caring about what people think of her. Her label and management are also on-message. Here's a quote from the piece:
Apparently, her record label and management team had no second thoughts about her making a record with Brown—especially after the success of their “Birthday Cake” remix. [Tyran “Ty Ty” Smith, a co-founder of Roc Nation] is surprised even to be asked about the collab. “We don’t focus on the media, so it was never a question,” he says. “It’s all about the music. Everything else doesn’t even play a part in the studio.” He insists that the record wasn’t made with Brown in mind. “The-Dream didn’t write it for them as a duet. Jay-Z and I were in the car together listening to the song, and we thought it would be a great duet. It sounds dope. It feels good. That’s how Chris ended up on the song.”
That's surprising, given the years of rumors that Jay-Z turned icy on Brown after the singer brutally assaulted Rihanna in 2009. Among the various whispers: Jay allegedly called Brown and told him to stop selling t-shirts bearing Rihanna's image and warned Brown there would be consequences if he ever hurt her again. Sources within the music industry have also said that Jay had cooled on Rihanna since she and Brown reconciled.
For what it's worth, Brown denied rumors that Jay-Z threatened his career after he and Rihanna attended one of the elder rapper's sold-out shows at New York's Barclays Center.
Despite being met with disgust and protest, "Nobody's Business" has been praised as one of the standout tracks on "Unapologetic," Rihanna's most recent album. The song has an old-school vibe and samples a lyric from Michael Jackson's "The Way You Make Me Feel."
