Brooklyn mogul Jay-Z is no stranger to dressing sharp and creating music that’s enjoyed by folks in tailored suits and bow-ties. Hip-hop has grown all the way up and its apparel and taste is no longer merely for those rocking hoodies and shelltoes. Yuppies like hip-hop too, or at least, they’re finding space to identify with it. Most of Jay-Z’s fans already know about his classic MTV Unplugged set several years ago when he had (in addition to the Roots backing him up) jazz musicians and a string session on stage helping him to keep his sound pristine. That was most likely the impetus that encouraged Seattle jazz ensemble, the Jason Parker Quartet, to release a creative new project called Smoke ‘em if You Got ‘em a couple of days ago.

The way it works is, fellow Seattle artist Spekulation took a bunch of Hov’s best verses and laid them over fresh jazz sounds from JPQ’s recently released new album, Five Leaves Left: A Tribute to Nick Drake. Spek had the ear to match pieces of an album honoring an entirely different musician and match it all to Jay-Z’s voice. Now that’s production. Everything from “Roc Boys” to “December 4th” to “Can’t Knock the Hustle” gets covered. Checkout the jazzyhiphop mashup below, and then be sure to actually listen to Five Leaves Left as well. We don’t get nearly enough jazz up on this site but this one is worth it.