Long before their rivalry and subsequent string of collaborations, Jay-Z and Nas first appeared on a record together called “No Love Lost” nearly 30 years ago. The record in question was to appear on Shaquille O’Neal’s third studio album, You Can’t Stop The Reign. However, for one reason or another, when the album was released, the song only featured Jay-Z and Lord Tariq.
And so, for the 28 or so years since that album’s 1996 release, rumors and rough cuts and mashups circulated rap forums, all purporting to be the original collaboration between Jay-Z and Nas. All hope was lost — until earlier this year, when Andrew Barber of Fake Shore Drive revealed that not only would You Can’t Stop The Reign come to streaming at long last, but it would also feature the original version of “No Love Lost” with Nas’ verse restored.
You can now hear the song in all its glory, featuring Jay and Nas in their respective primes over a beat by Poke & Tone below. 2024 has turned out to be a prolific year for gems from Shaq’s storied second career; earlier this month, Shaq reminisced on Ice Cube stopping him from dropping a song with Dr. Dre. Prior to that, the NBA Hall of Famer dropped a diss track for Shannon Sharpe over Nikola Jokic — no, really.
