Mark Ronson was "starstruck" when he first met Jay Z.
The 38-year-old DJ, who first spoke with the ‘Holy Grail’ hitmaker properly at an album launch, was stunned when the rapper asked to feature on one of his tracks after he discovered him DJing in New York clubs.
Mark told Breaks magazine: "I started to get quite a lot of work and then in the late 90s, like 97, 98, that’s when Puffy and Jay Z and Biggie and Big Pun are coming down to the clubs that I was DJing at.
"I was [later] DJing for Jay Z at the ‘The Dynasty: Roc La Familia’ album launch in 2001 and I was playing it and he came right up to me and said ‘is this your song, is this the girl you produced?’, and he’d only talked to me maybe once in my life up to then so even with that I was still pretty star-struck."
Mark was shocked when Jay Z said to him: "Promise me you’ll let me by the dude that rhymes over the remix", even though the track was never made.
He continued: "Needless to say Jay Z never returned the phone calls at the time to do it but it was still a big deal after eight years of DJing these clubs for these people to have a record that they knew and liked.
"And thats how I got my record deal with Elektra, the guy who signed me loved that Nikka Costa record and he signed me and let me make my own album."
For the full interview with Mark, visit breaksmag.com/issue-6/interview-mark-ronson.
Mark Ronson: I was starstruck by Jay Z
