Defsounds

Jay-Z, who was previously reported to have been involved in the 'We Are The World' remake, was noticibly absent when the video aired last Friday. Hov explained why he wasn't involved at the annual '2 Kings' dinner over last Saturday over All-Star Weekend.

"I have a interesting take on that," explained Jigga. "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. 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."

Hov also believes a new song should have been written instead of re-doing the original.

"I would have loved that idea better," he said. "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]. I tried to do that with 'Stranded' [the song Jay, Rihanna and U2's Bono and the Edge premiered at the 'Hope for Haiti Now' telethon]. I didn't try to make 'We Are the World,' but I tried to make our take on how we felt."

Jay-Z has also told MTV that he's currently working on his next studio effort.

“I got one crazy record,” he said. “To be honest with you, it’s crazy. I got one and we’ll build from there. Whether it comes out this year or next year, it depends on the music and how it’s coming out. I don’t really have any dates.”

Despite criticism after being premiered last friday at the start of the Winter Olympics the remake has claimed the top spot on iTunes and has over 6.2 million views on YouTube.