Fat Joe reveals Eminem sent him “30 versions” of 'Lean Back' remix verse

Fat Joe has revealed that Eminem sent him around 30 variations of his verse for their collaborative track ‘Lean Back’.

Read more: Timbaland and Swizz Beatz on ‘VERZUZ’ battle series: “We want to celebrate the architects of good music”

Released in 2005, the song saw Fat Joe – real name Joseph Cartagena – enlist the help of Marshall Mathers, Lil Jon and Mase & Remy Martin.

During an appearance on a recent edition of the Drink Champs podcast, Fat Joe spoke to Lenny S, DJ EFN, and N.O.R.E about his experience of working with Eminem on the cut.

“He sent me that same verse 30 different times, saying it with a different tone, lighter tone… he wouldn’t make up his mind,” he explained.

“30 different takes and verses… the same verse! Same verse! Different flows, different high or low… I don’t know what to tell you. This dude is such a perfectionist. It was like, ‘Alright, we know the verse! Can we let it go? We’re running down to the wire’.”

The conversation turned to Eminem’s ‘Lean Back’ contribution after he was slated for a potential Verzuz battle on the broadcast.

“I don’t know who want[s] to battle Eminem. I don’t think nobody can fuck with Eminem,” Fat Joe said. “DMX got the biggest hits in the world, one of the greatest rappers of all time. Legendary, iconic, superhero. And everything I’m saying is understating, he’s bigger than that.

“But there’s something about that white boy and his fans – nah bro, you want to see something cracking the internet? That n***a David Koresh, that n***a different!” You can watch the full discussion in the above video.

This comes after N.O.R.E claimed on Instagram that Slim Shady and DMX were prepared to go head-to-head on an upcoming Verzuz instalment.

Streamed via Instagram Live, Verzuz pits producers, songwriters, and artists against each other in a rap battle-style format. A winner is later decided by Timbaland and Swizz Beatz.

Last December, Eminem and Fat Joe teamed up on the diss-heavy collaborative track ‘Lord Above’.