Stormzy says he prevented Jay-Z from collaborating with Ed Sheeran

They’re some of the biggest names in music, but English grime icon Stormzy has revealed how he once stopped Jay-Z from working with Ed Sheeran.

Ask anyone to name two of the biggest musicians in the world and you’ll likely hear Ed Sheeran and Jay-Z as part of that list.

While Sheeran now has the highest-grossing tour in the world, Jay-Z recently made headlines for being the first hip-hop artist to become a billionaire. Needless to say, the idea of both of them on the same track is enough to break the world of music in two.

However, Stormzy has revealed how he prevented one of the biggest collaborations in history from occurring.

Speaking to The Jonathan Ross Show recently (via the BBC), Stormzy mentioned how he recently teamed up with Sheeran on the single ‘Take Me Back To London’. However, the pair of English musos were almost joined by none other than New York City icon Jay-Z.

Check out ‘Take Me Back To London’ by Ed Sheeran:

“Before that I loved Take Me Back To London because I thought it was just going to be me and Ed,” Stormzy explained, “and then Ed was like, ‘Jay is getting on it.’

“It blew my mind. Jay-Z is my number one hero inspiration.

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“We got into the studio and we were writing for this song and then he just stops the music and he said, ‘Tell me about London, I need some inspiration.'”

However, after a conversation between himself and Jay-Z, Stormzy explained hat he turned down the hip-hop icon’s chance to appear on the track, claiming that his presence on the song would completely change the meaning of the track.

“At the end he’s smiling, we were probably talking for an hour and he goes, ‘So what do you think of the song?'” Stormzy recalls. “I was like, ‘I love this song but you being on the song changes everything’.”

“‘If you didn’t ask me this, I would have just written my verse and we would have done it and I would have never questioned it, but now that you’ve asked me, no.’

“He fully understood [but] he couldn’t believe that I did it.”

In related news, Stormzy just revealed that he’s set to visit our shores in May of 2020, announcing a run of dates last week as part of an upcoming global tour.