Jay-Z and Eminem are slated to appear together on a song from Rakim’s forthcoming collaborative album, a pairing that would put the two rap stars back on the same track for the first time in 25 years. The untitled song is listed as the sixth track on the project, which is targeted for release Aug. 28.
The news has drawn attention because their last musical collaboration was “Renegade” in 2001, a track that became a touchstone for both artists as highly regarded lyricists. This time, the song sits inside a broader album that pairs Rakim with Kurupt and Masta Killa, making the reunion part of a much larger collaboration rather than a standalone Jay-Z and Eminem release.
Matthew “M80” Markoff fueled the speculation on Sunday when he posted a sneak peek at the track list on Instagram and wrote, “AOTY 2026” and “PUT SOME COT DAMN RESPEK ON MY NAME.” In the image, Eminem’s and Jay-Z’s names were handwritten beside the sixth track, and Markoff later confirmed the song would be an official release.
He also said the track would be an interlude and that Em and Jay do not have verses on it, a detail that complicates the initial impression created by the post. An Eminem representative said there has not been any outreach to Eminem’s team regarding the Rakim, Kurupt and Masta Killa project, leaving the final credits and exact form of the track still partly unresolved.
Even so, the album is moving toward release with substantial star power behind it. Rakim’s project, recorded over the past two years, is also expected to include appearances from Snoop Dogg, KRS-One, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Buckshot and Daz Dillinger, along with a posthumous executive production credit for Oliver “Power” Grant of Wu-Tang Clan.
Rakim, Kurupt and Masta Killa have worked together before on “BE ILL,” but the prospect of Jay-Z and Eminem sharing a project again is the detail that has pushed the album into sharper focus. If the Aug. 28 target holds, the long-awaited reunion will arrive not as a full new duet, but as a brief part of a sprawling collaborative record that still has one key question hanging over it: how the official release will ultimately credit the track.
