Jay-Z: Original 'We Are the World' is 'Untouchable'

Mon, 15 February 2010 04:55:39 ET

Explaining his absence from 'We Are the World: 25 for Haiti', the rapper states he 'would have loved' a new song written as an effort to raise funds for Haiti instead of revamping the 1985 classic.

The star-studded "We Are the World: 25 for Haiti" might have been the highlight of the opening ceremony of 2010 Winter Olympics on Friday, February 12, but Jay-Z has a strong opinion against the remake. In a recent interview with MTV at the annual "2 Kings" dinner on Saturday, February 13, the rapper stated he thinks the original version of the single is "untouchable."

"I have a interesting take on that," the 40-year-old rapper commented. "I know everybody is gonna take this wrong, 'We Are the World,' I love it, and I understand the point and think it's great. But I think 'We Are the World' is like [Michael Jackson's] 'Thriller' to me. I don't ever wanna see it touched. I'm a fan of music".

"I know the plight and everything that's going on in Haiti. I applaud the efforts: [Millions have been raised] through text [donations] to Haiti," the husband of Beyonce Knowles further stated. "So I appreciate the efforts and everything, but 'We are the World' is [musically] untouchable like 'Thriller' is untouchable. Some things are just untouchable. It was a valiant effort, but for me, it's gonna be untouchable."

On the occasion, the "Young Forever" hitmaker also expressed his opinion in writing a new song to raise funds for the devastated country instead of revamping the 1985 classic. "I would have loved that idea better," he shared. "As everyone knows, I have tremendous respect for Quincy Jones. Of course, I think he's genius, as everyone else does. [But] I think it's time for us to make a new [song]".

Giving an example, Jay-Z then pointed out his recent music collaboration with Rihanna, U2's Bono and The Edge, which premiered at the George Clooney's "Hope for Haiti Telethon" in January. "I tried to do that with 'Stranded'," he said. "I didn't try to make 'We Are the World,' but I tried to make our take on how we felt."

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