JAY-Z and Kanye West have invited many musicians, but perhaps the only one among them is former Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera.
In his new memoir, Revolución to Roxy, out on Friday (March 22), Manzanella reveals (in an excerpt first shared on iNews) that he wrote his guitar riff for rap duo Watch the Throne”‘s opening song “No Church” is sampled. in the Wild” put more money into his bank account than anything he had released as part of a prominent British group that included Brian Eno.
Producer 88-Keys used a portion of Manzanera’s 1978 solo track “K-Scope” on the song Ye and Hov, and the guitarist revealed in the book that he received one-third of the song’s recording royalties and one-third One publishing income in return.
“‘No Church in the Wild’ is the first track [of Watch the Throne], my guitar riff plays throughout the song, which features vocals from Frank Ocean and The-Dream,” Manzanera wrote in part. “The album went gold in the UK and Italy and platinum in the US and Denmark. It was used in trailers and scenes for the film The Great Gatsby, in commercials for Audi cars, and In another TV commercial for the Dodge Dart that aired during Super Bowl halftime.
He continued: “Who knew that I would make more money from a short guitar riff I wrote one night on the couch in front of the TV in 1978 than I would in 50 years as a member of Roxy Music? Thank you Kanye West, thank you Jay-Z, thank you Virgin and Universal, thank you for the capricious mistress of rock.”
Last summer, JAY-Z and Kanye West earned diamond medals for another WTT track, with their song “N-ggas In Paris” being certified 10x platinum.
Hov and Yeezy’s 2011 joint hit went Diamond on June 12, 2023, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, and both acclaimed rappers are now part of this extremely exclusive club.
“N-ggas In Paris” is Jay’s first diamond record, and Kanye has done it before with Graduation’s “Stronger”.
N-ggas In Paris has been stuck at 9x platinum since May 2022, but has surpassed the elusive diamond mark more than a decade after its initial release in 2011.
Kanye previously detailed the inspiration behind “N-ggas In Paris,” which came from the dualities he encountered during his travels in Europe.
“I’m where art meets commerce. The sweet spot between the hood and Hollywood. Got a conversation with Karl Lagerfeld and JAY-Z in the same hour,” Ye told XXL in 2010. “When we were dressing up like crazy at the Paris fashion shows, we would listen to JAY-Z. Jeezy in Paris, that’s it.”
“N-ggas In Paris” ranked fifth on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In addition to Kanye, the song was also produced by Hit-Boy, Mike Dean and Anthony Kilhoffer.
