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Jay-Z Didn’t Give Ed Sheeran Any Love on ‘Shape of You’

Photo-Illustration: Vulture. Photos: Getty Images

Ed Sheeran’s biggest hit almost took a different shape. The singer-songwriter told Rolling Stone that he originally asked Jay-Z to record a verse for “Shape of You,” but the rapper turned him down. “I sent him the song, and he said, ‘I don’t think the song needs a rap verse,’” Sheeran said. “He was probably right.” The story does check out: This was around the same time that Sheeran linked up with Jay’s wife, Beyoncé, on a remix of “Perfect,” and any pop star worth their salt would want a duo of Carter features on their album. But are we sure Jay wasn’t just trying to stay far, far away from a song that our critic once diagnosed with “clinical swaggerlessness”? “It was a very natural, respectful pass,” Sheeran added. Guess we’ll never know if he could’ve saved “Shape of You” or just dragged it down further.

Jay-Z Didn’t Give Ed Sheeran Any Love on ‘Shape of You’