“22 Two’s” is Jay’s extended word game — go ahead, count the two/too/to’s!

In an interview with Spin magazine, producer Ski Beatz talked about “22 Two’s”:

That’s like my nightmare song because I never liked that beat. People seemed to like it so I said, “Fuck it.” Jay used to spit that verse [a cappella] every time we did a performance. He used to always have the crowd going crazy. So he said, “I’ma just make a song out of it.” I played that beat and he’s like, “I’ma use that one.” And I’m like, “That one? That one? I got so many better ones.”

There’s a skit with Maria Davis’ Mad Wednesdays [showcases]… the lady talking at the beginning. That’s where that verse became very popular. He used to spit that verse at her event. That’s why she got on the song and did the whole [thing] like we was up in Mad Wednesdays. That’s how she usually brought it to the stage.