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Drake Says Original 'Light It Up' Verse Was 'Way Harder'

In MTV's 'Better Than Good Enough' documentary, Drizzy is seen recording new rhymes for Jay-Z-assisted track.

During MTV's [article id="1642253"]"Drake: Better Than Good Enough"[/article] documentary, the Toronto MC is shown making last-minute adjustments to two songs the day before his debut album, Thank Me Later, is set to be mixed and mastered.

One of those tracks, the Jay-Z-assisted "Light Up," features Drake's last-minute rhymes. "I like these bars better than the other bars," he tells his road manager after laying down the new verse and listening to a playback. " 'Cause the other bars are so, like, 'Oh, it's kiddish.' This is, like, I really think I'm the sh--, and then Jay comes and puts me in my place."

In an interview with MTV2's "Sucker Free," Drake revealed that his original verse was more aggressive and that he used it on a collaboration with a certain Kanye West protégé instead.

"My verse was way harder on 'Light Up' before," Drake explained. "I had done a song, and nothing was supposed to happen with it, and it leaked. The bars from the song were so hard, it was a song with Big Sean ['Made It']. There were some bars on the song that fit better with 'Light Up' and made so much more sense. And the last night before mastering, I had to go in and switch the first 12 bars. On 'Light Up,' I lost my footing a bit, and Jay came in and killed me."

Earlier this year, Drake spoke with MTV News about the [article id="1640276"]collaboration with Jay-Z[/article] and said "Light Up" mirrors their friendship. "Jay not only gave me a great verse, but a life lesson," Drake said. "And I think he's gonna give everybody a life lesson just about this business. It's incredible."

Do you agree with Drake's thoughts on "Light Up" and Jay-Z besting him? Let us know in the comments below!

MTV followed Drake in the weeks leading up to the release of his new LP, Thank Me Later. The [article id="1642253"]"Drake: Better Than Good Enough"[/article] documentary will re-air Thursday (June 24) at 6 p.m., Friday at 4 p.m., Saturday at noon and 9 p.m., and Sunday at 9 a.m. on MTV.

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