The Curious Case of Jay-Z’s ‘Crispy Benjamins’

A press release announcing the addition of a new Jay-Z song entitled 'Crispy Benjamins' to the re-release of 'The Blueprint 3' made the rounds this week, causing confusion.

While the song, which is said to sample indie rocker Regina Spektor's 'Chemo Limo,' is news, most surprising is the revelation that Jay would so quickly re-release an album which has only been out for three weeks.

The press release stated that the song was produced by newcomer Mirk, from the New Familiar Music Group, and listed Jive Records A&R Ant Rich as Mirk's point of contact.

When contacted by MTV, Rich denied sending the release, explaining unconvincingly, "Mirk from the New Familiars produced a track (which I co-produced) that has a Regina Spektor sample in it ... which is called 'Crispy Benjamins'...Jay-Z purchased the track for 'The Blueprint 3,' [but it] wound up not making the album."

He continued saying, "I was told by Jay Brown [A&R for Jay-Z's Roc Nation imprint] that there was potential for the song to be used on a re-release. At some point, a press release was sent about the track using my contact information. Neither Mirk nor myself had ANYTHING to do with the press release. We are currently trying to find out who sent it out so we can clear up this matter."

Though Jay Brown has yet to comment on the matter, a spokesperson for Atlantic Records, who distributed 'BP3' for Roc Nation, denied any knowledge of such a re-release, claiming instead that Jay will be releasing a greatest-hits album on his former label Def Jam (his 3rd!), set for a Nov. 24 release.

A very confusing story about a track which doesn't even seem to have leaked yet. The Regina Spektor sample makes sense given Jay's recent interest in all things indie-nerd, ie Urkel glasses, Grizzly Bear Shows, MGMT etc. but sampling indie rock artists is not the new "20" Jay, so maybe steer clear of all that.