They may be the world. But on Planet Jay-Z some songs remain off-limits.
Explaining why one of the biggest acts in music today (and his wife) was not part of the motley all-star crew that offered a new rendition of "We Are the World" for Haiti relief, the rapper tells MTV:
"I have an interesting take on that. Namely, that they should never have remade it in the first place."
He continues, "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 '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...So I appreciate the efforts and everything, but 'We Are the World' is untouchable like 'Thriller' is untouchable. Some things are just untouchable. It was a valiant effort, but for me, it's gonna be untouchable."
Which isn't to say Jay-Z is in any way against helping out the Haitian earthquake recovery efforts, having teamed up with some other stars to record their own charity single for the cause.
"I would have loved that idea better," he said of penning an all-new tune for the participants. "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."
Future charity organizers, take note.
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Agree or disagree with Jay-Z, you can't argue the cause. Download the tune and donate to Haiti relief.