Jay-Z and Kanye West might be ready to set aside their differences after months of hostility that culminated in a multimillion-dollar battle at Jay-Z's record label, Tidal. Not long ago, the rumor mill said West wanted to terminate his contract with Tidal because it allegedly failed to deliver on promises of advances and bonuses in the amount of $3.5 million. Supposedly, the missing money gave West reason to air grievances with Jay-Z and Tidal, but the problem boiled down to machismo and pride.
Jay-Z and Kanye West moved from friends to frienemies after a string of nasty incidents that began when Kanye West had a public meltdown onstage during what would become the final show of his Saint Pablo tour. As TMZ tells it, Jay-Z was furious when West infamously went on a lengthy rant about the state of the world and his acquaintanceship with Jay-Z and Beyoncé. But problems had been bubbling up for a while, at least in West's opinion.
Not only did Kanye West say damaging things about Queen Bey and Blue Ivy, but he also accused Jay-Z of having "killers," perhaps meaning assassins, and then he inisinuated he was surprised Jay-Z had not put a hit out on him. After nearly half an hour West stormed out of the arena and doctors placed him on an involuntary psychiatric hold for emergency evaluation. The baffling moment happened on the heels of other devastating incidents in West's private life, including the abduction and assault of his wife, Kim Kardashian, by gun-toting robbers during Paris Fashion Week.
Perhaps in response to Kanye West's biting words, Jay-Z penned the diss track "Kill Jay-Z" and put it as the lead track on his new album, 4:44. In the lyrics of the song, Jay-Z raps critical lines, such as,
You dropped outta school, you lost your principles, I know people backstab you, I feel bad too, But this fuck everybody attitude ain't natural.
Moreover, Jay-Z took Kanye West to task, rapping,
But you ain't the same, this ain't KumbaYe, But you got hurt because you think KumbaYe, You gave him 20 million without thinkin', He gave you 20 minutes on stage, fuck was he thinkin'? 'Fuck wrong with everybody?' is what you sayin', But if everybody's crazy, you're the one that's insane.
However, last month, Jay-Z told the podcast Rap Radar that he refused to have ongoing fights with other people in the rap industry. Granted, Jay-Z was talking about a purported feud that began between himself and rapper Fat Joe back in the early 2000s, but Jay-Z still said,
I don't want to have rap beef, I'm checked out of that part of the game.
Jay-Z has spoken candidly about Kanye West, too. He said West most likely knew he had "crossed the line." Jay-Z explained that he and West had been through ups and downs in the past, so the fact that West had not reached out to make amends signaled to him that West felt embarrassed about what happened.
So, now reports say Jay-Z would be open to talking to Kanye West about the issues. Furthermore, because Jay-Z and Beyoncé have moved to California, they are practically neighbors with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian. Reports say squashing the drama might be as easy as the two guys getting together to hash out the details. We'll have to stay tuned to see if that happens.
