Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Jay Z takes a swipe at Kanye West on Meek Mill collaboration 'Get Free'

At one point the hip hop mogul appears close to comparing his wife Beyonce with West's partner Kim Kardashian

Roisin O'Connor
Music Correspondent
Friday 30 November 2018 09:26 GMT
Comments
JAY-Z on His Relationship with Kanye

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Jay-Z appears to have used his feature on Meek Mill's new studio album Championships to call out Kanye West.

The hip hop mogul took aim at West on "What's Free", a collaboration with Rick Ross and Mill, which is a take on Notorious BIG's "What's Beef".

During the track, Jay-Z mocks West over his support of Trump, rapping: "No red hat, don't Michael and Prince me and Ye / They separate you when you got Michael and Prince's DNA / I ain't one of these house n***as you bought / My house like a resort, my house bigger than yours."

Then he appears to almost-compare West's wife Kim Kardashian with his own wife, Beyonce: "My spo– c'mon man, my route better, of course."

Elsewhere, he hits out at racial oppression in America ("In the land of the free, where the blacks enslaved / Three-fifths of a man I believe's the phrase").

Jay-Z and West's relationship has been tumultuous of late. During an interview in April with David Letterman, he spoke about his relationship with West and said: "That's my brother. We're beyond friends. Really, like literally, my little brother is Kanye, and like your little brother, things happen sometimes."

However, some have interpreted his Kanye mention as an address of how the media attempts to fuel tension between the two, comparing it to the fall-out between Prince and Michael Jackson.

Mill has also spoken out against West over his meeting with Donald Trump at the White House. "I don't think [Kanye] addressed anything that had to do with what was tough on justice reform," he said. "He wasn't prepared for it, and he shouldn't have done it. I had phone calls with Kanye for hours. He was trying to get me to do things like that."

Mill recently wrote a powerful op-ed for the New York Times on criminal justice reform, based on his own experiences. Elsewhere on his new record, he quashed his beef with fellow artist Drake following a years-long feud.

Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in