Memphis Bleek explains his Absence on Jay-Z's albums

When Jay-Z was still a relatively new artist, he would feature Memphis Bleek on every album. From 1996 until 2002, the only albums Bleek didn't appear on were In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 and The Blueprint. But, after The Blueprint 2, Memphis Bleek no longer made appearances on Jay-Z albums. Some assumed that this was because Jay-Z decided to move in a different direction, others felt that Jay-Z assumed that he was too good to feature Bleek on his albums.

Finally, Memphis Bleek is setting the record straight. The reason that he was no longer featured on Jay-Z's albums was his own choice. Bleek felt that each time he was featured on a Jay-Z album, it was like Jay-Z was throwing him a bone. People would expect Memphis Bleek to appear on Jay-Z's albums because he was the sidekick. Ever since 2003, Memphis Bleek has been trying to be the captain of his own team.

For his latest album, Memphis Bleek will not feature Jay-Z on it. Throughout his career, he has worked with Jay on every album. Of the nine singles that Memphis Bleek has released, seven of them feature Jay-Z. Then, there is "Dear Summer," which solely features Jay-Z with no support from Memphis Bleek. Now that he is finally off of Roc-A-Fella Records, Memphis Bleek plans to begin a new phase of his career. He will always maintain a friendship with Jay-Z, who is the executive producer of the new album. Jay-Z has been there for the entire recording process, but he just will not appear on the album.

Memphis Bleek will release The Process on March 23, 2010 on Get Low Records, Mass Appeal, and E1 Music.