Answer: Shawn Carter
The song had many contributors. It was written by American record producer Rich Harrison, who borrowed the hook's instrumentation from Eugene Record's song "Are You My Woman? (Tell Me So)." Beyonc茅 wrote the bridge, while Shawn Carter (Jay-Z) improvised the rap verse. "Jay-Z's killer verse was added at the last minute," Rolling Stone magazine reported in its 2021 article on the greatest songs of all time. "Bey and Jay had just started dating at the time."