West recorded a verse by rap artist Nas—one of his idol rappers—for the track "We Major" without informing Jay-Z, who at the time was engaged in a feud with Nas. GOOD, music label-mate Really Doe also appears on the track, delivering its elongated chorus. West later revealed that part of the reason he created the song was to dismantle the feud between the MCs, which they did later that year. "Hey Mama", dedicated to his mother Donda West, was first recorded by West as early as 2000. Brion ran into some obstruction while conducting a twenty-piece orchestra for "Celebration", as its musicians found themselves giggling at West's humorous lyrics which hampered their playing. On "Roses", West and Brion had some minor discord; Brion initially layered it with keyboard arrangements, only for West to remove his keys along with the beat and completely reconfigure the entire song in such a way that its verses are built around the rhythm formed by his vocals and Brion's arrangements arrive during the choruses. Brion later lightheartedly compared the indecision surrounding the construction of the track to that of Prince's famous last-minute removal of the bassline from "When Doves Cry". According to Patti LaBelle, she contributed vocals to "Roses". "I was in his studio one night, and and his mother both asked if I'd just sing something on this song", Labelle recalled. "I didn't get a credit on the album because the liner notes had already been printed up."