S. Samuel
Philadelphia rap veteran Charli Baltimore has stepped forward to kill past rumors claiming hip-hop mogul Jay-Z quietly ghostwrote her records in the 1990's.
Referencing her 1998 “Money Love” single, Baltimore said The LOX, not Hov, wrote the record.
“Jay-Z didn’t ghostwrite ‘Money,'” replied Charli when asked about Hov’s role in her debut single. “I never had any [songs] ghostwritten by Jay-Z. I do all my own writing. But actually, ‘Money’ was written by The L.O.X. And that was because I had just gotten my deal and the person running the label at the time, [Lance “Un” Rivera], just thought that my first single should be written by someone else. But they wrote that and then after that I never had anybody else write anything for me. I write all of my stuff.” (Hip Hop DX)
In 2009, Baltimore opened up about her past bond with Jay.
“We had a relationship that was based on a friendship at one point. Like with me, if I’m in any sort of relationship it has to be mutual. If you are mutual friends, then you are mutual friends. If you are mutual f*cking, then you are mutually f*cking! [Laughs] There should never be a point where one person is putting in 60% and the other person is putting in 150%,” Charli said. “That goes with any kind of relationship. I don’t know how Jay is now, but back then, I felt as though Jay was all about Jay. I felt like in any sort of relationship, no matter what it is, it has to be mutual. You have to have a mutual respect to accomplish anything, especially if you are trying to do business.” (Yo Raps)
She also said there were initial plans for her to appear in rap group The Commission alongside Jay and the late Notorious B.I.G.
“Of course, everybody knows B.I.G. was trying to do the ‘Commission. It was supposed to be me, B.I.G. and Jay. When you’re a female, people always try to pigeon hole you and put you in a relationship with somebody you don’t even have a relationship with,” she added. “You could walk down the street with any dude, I mean you could be hanging with Choke No Joke [a mutual friend of Charli] and somebody is gonna say y’all f*cking!” (Yo Raps)
Jay cited Baltimore by her government name, Tiffany Lane, on The Black Album‘s “Allure.”
She made her first appearance in the music industry in 1995 with Junior M.A.F.I.A.‘s “Get Money” playing The Notorious B.I.G’s then wife Faith Evans. Her first video was in 1998 with the hit “Money” featured on the Woo movie soundtrack. Baltimore was also referenced by rapper Jay-Z in his song the “Allure” on The Black Album when he said, “All the Christy’s in every city and Tiffany Lanes we’re all hustlers in love with the same thing…” (Wikipedia)
Check out Charli Baltimore’s “Money” below:
