When I think back on the day I should’ve started blogging I think back when Beyoncé announced she was pregnant with blue ivy. I remember that day like it was yesterday, and I remember the look that Kanye west gave Jay-z as well. Yes, Kanye was very happy for Jay and Bey but when you look closely at Kanye west face that night you could tell that he was wondering when he was going to have his own true happiness. Fast forward to now, Jay-z has dropped his 13th album “4:44” and it is one quote that caught my eye.
“I know people backstab you, I felt bad too but this ‘F*** everybody!’ attitude ain’t natural but you ain’t a saint, this ain’t kumbaya but you got hurt because you did cool by ‘Ye You gave him 20 million without blinkin’ F*** was he thinkin’?”~Jay-z
Right around the time we all were ranting and raving about Hov’s new album, Kanye decided to pull out of his partner deal with Jay-z streaming app “Tidal”, and slap the company with a 3 million dollar law suit. While many will look past this, and call this “rich people problems” this is far from rich people problems because this is the end of a brotherhood that was so love in hip hop.
The history of Kanye west, and jay-z brotherhood dates back to 2000, when Kanye was desperate to prove to his idol Jay Z that he was more than a dope producer, but also a talented rapper, which was something that Jay really was not trying to hear at the time.
“Let’s at least sign [Kanye] so we can keep the tracks in-house,” Jay recalled saying in a 2009 XXL interview.
Rapper Cam’ron later claimed that Jay straight up ignored Kanye when the producer was “rapping his heart out” to the mogul. Luckily, Rocafella’s other heavyweight, Damon Dash gave Kanye a chance and the kid happened to blow and as we know Jay eventually also came around just in time for Kanye to hit superstardom.
But like every brotherhood there’s always a natural competition. On Yeezy’s third album Graduation, Kanye spoke on how Jay stole his idea in the duet track “Big Brother” as he raps,
I told Jay I did a song with Coldplay/Next thing I know he got a song with Coldplay/Back in my mind I’m like, ‘Damn, no way’,” he rhymes. In actuality, Jay’s “Beach Chair” predated Kanye’s “Homecoming.” Jay would later on credit himself for introducing Kanye to Coldplay frontman Chris Martin. Then let’s not forget when Jay Z shades Kanye’s love of Auto-Tune with the song “D.O.A (Death of Auto-Tune)” and threw shade at ‘Kanye’s fashion choices with “D.O.A” lyrics,
“You n****s jeans too tight, your colors too bright, your voice too light.” It was shocking even though the diss flew over everyone head that Jay would even say that when the track was co-produced by then colorful clothes-wearing Kanye west himself. The lyrics could have been targets a host of rappers but the funny thing is Kanye felt like the lyrics went “too far.”
It was when Kanye West started dating Kim Kardashian in late 2011 after the homemade porn star divorced NBA Player, Kris Humphries after 72 days of marriage that we really noticed that something was up between the two “brothers.” How can we forget when Jay Z and Beyoncé and Kim and Kanye sat at the 2012 BET Awards together? While Jay and Kanye appeared to be the best of friends, Jay and Beyoncé barely acknowledge Kim Kardashian’s existence at the show and Kim was looking like a deer in headlight. Keyword awkward much. After all it been reported that Beyoncé and Jay didn’t want to be seen with Kim because of her reputation and it was also reported that Beyoncé felt like Kim wasn’t the right woman for him.
Furthermore, when Kanye and Kim reportedly invited The Carters to their baby shower. The pair were a no-show to the shower, but Jay and Bey reportedly gifted them with $7,500 worth of baby gifts for their daughter arrival. And let’s not forget when Kanye proposed to Kim in front of her family and friends at San Francisco’s AT&T Stadium. While some of Kanye’s Chicago buddies were present for the magical event, Jay Z and Beyoncé chose again not to be there. Then Kanye reportedly asked Jay Z to be his best man at his wedding while rumors would later spread that Beyoncé would rather stay home, playing Connect Four with then two-year-old Blue Ivy instead of attending the pair wedding.
Seemingly hurt Kanye would respond to Jay Z and Beyoncé missing his wedding by telling GQ that it didn’t matter “because the most important person to show up there was Kim.” No matter what Ye said, we all knew that is was tension between the four of them. Let’s be real here. We all have seen the changes in Kanye since he’s been with Kim he’s not the same Kanye we all grew to love. It’s like he changed more in order to fit in Kim Kardashian world to become Kanye Kardashian. Yes, their children are beautiful and there’re a few pictures when Kanye does look happy to be with his wife and family but you can still tell that something is off with Kanye. Just look at his outburst and recent hospital stay.
Jay-Z on the other hand seems to be doing just fine, minus a bit of infidelity on his part. Hov, Kanye and multiple other artists invested into Tidal in 2015 and Kanye appeared to be a strong supporter for the platform until this year. Following a disagreement over how his album was streamed and how he was compensated he resorted to scrubbing his Twitter clean of all Tidal mentions only to tweet out, “The love of music is louder than words.” Before the fall out though, his album Life of Pablo was released exclusively on Tidal and he took to Twitter to announce his allegiance to the Tidal platform by stating,
“My album will never never never be on Apple. And it will never be for sale.. You can only get it on Tidal.”~ Kanye West, 2016
Then months later a fired-up Kanye offered a public update on the state of his friendship with Jay-z, stating that Jay never personally visited him after Kim Kardashian’s Paris robbery. The rapper felt Jay should’ve personally visited his home “like brothers” instead of getting on the phone to ask about his well-being. To say Kanye was hurt would be an understatement. A Page Six sources later claim Jay Z “can’t stand” Kanye and can only “tolerate him in small doses.” The source also claims the two did Watch the Throne together because it was a great opportunity for Jay to line his pockets with cash. “There was so much money to be made,” says the source. “Jay was like, ‘I’m gonna knock this out. We’re going to do a tour to bring in millions of dollars. I can tolerate that.”
TMZ has reported that Jay has threatened to sue Kanye if he makes an exclusive deal with another streaming service, but we’re told Kanye’s done with exclusive deals. Jay and ‘Ye were once like brothers, and they still are … Cain and Abel. It seems like Jay and Kanye’s relationship really took a tumble when Kanye married Kim Kardashian and the two have contrasting personalities, as Jay is much more private and background, while Kanye is much more out front and loud.
According to new reports from Page Six, a source says that the two have had a rift in their friendship since West has been “forcing his wife on Hov and his wife, Beyoncé. The source also elaborated on Kanye’s concert rant last year, where he called out Queen Bey for her “fake shit,” and Jay for not calling him. Men always speak about, “bros before hoes” but when it comes to your heart we all know how easily we’re willing to throw away a friendship for person we barely know. They give you something that your best friend can’t, and no it not the sex it the security and comfort of knowing that someone have your back until the end if they stand by their wedding vows.
Kanye west was looking for his own family, and he found that in Kim. You may not like it but you have to respect who makes the man happy, even if we all feel that he can do better and Donda West (God bless her soul) would not be fond of a Kim daughter in law. Hopefully, they can put this family feud behind them and become friends again because no one wants to see Kanye become just another Damon Dash throwaway to Jigga.
~Judaea Payne