The Ying Yang Twins ‘SAY I YI YI’ Release Led to Phone Call from JAY-Z

In the early 2000s, The Ying Yang Twins were on top of the world. The duo of D-Roc and Kaine appeared on Hot 107.9 and reflected on their classics, including “Say I Yi Yi,” which led them to receive a call from JAY-Z.

The duo revealed they were dropped in 1999 and led to joining Koch Records on a one-year, one album deal. Previously, the two were signed to Universal, who denied “Say I Yi Yi.”

“Man, we dropped ‘I Yi Yi’ and it fucked the planet up. ‘I Yi Yi’ was getting 66,000 spins a week. ‘I Yi Yi’ sold muthafuckin’ hard, we in the house mailing out CDs,” Kaine said. “Phone ring, ‘Yo, this JAY-Z. You n*ggas is fuckin’ up my money. I gotta sell the fuckin’ Motorola Sidekick to settle my fade to The Black Album. You n*ggas is fuckin’ up money.’”

Kaine revealed there weren’t any hard feelings and The Twins were aiming to make a name for themselves, which they did, selling 465,000 units of that single in one year.

You can hear them break it all down below.