Alicia Keys and Jay-Z both saw the most successful song of their respective careers with “Empire State of Mind,” but it wasn’t all gravy from the beginning. In her upcoming feature on VH1 Storytellers, Alicia Keys reveals some interesting details about the recording process. Find out what happened below.

Marisa Mendez


Via XXL:

The God MC asked Alicia to guest on the song, but apparently wasn’t satisfied with the first version she submitted. To let Alicia tell it, she was congested during the first recording and Hov reached out and asked her to re-cut her vocals. Keys jokingly told the audience attending the taping at NYC’s Metropolis Studios last night (September 13) that she was bothered by Jigga Man’s request.

Alicia’s episode airs November 12th at 11pm.