Jay-Z is officially back on the streets.
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J-Hova, known as the God of MCs, literally blew up the rap internet with his a cappella freestyle during his performance at the Roots Picnic festival last weekend. In his March interview GQ He declared he would be aggressive, so it's no surprise that he decided to use this platform to air all of his problems. Historically, Jay has often used freestyles like these to air his concerns. However, this freestyle seemed especially unusual because he hasn't been rapping as much lately and has styled his dreadlocks into an afro, leading fans to speculate that he might be working on an album.
He addressed his issues with lawyer Tony Buzbee, former protégé Ye (formerly known as Kanye West), Nicki Minaj, Philadelphia rapper Oshino Vasquez, Tory Lanez and his father, MAGA supporters' hatred of the Super Bowl, conspiracy theorist Jaguar Wright, former friend and business partner Dame Dash, and, of course, Drake. Jay also had some great lines where he references The Wire TV series« , the Bible, a classic board game «Clue» and one of his many classic radio freestyles.
Now we're waiting for responses from some of the people mentioned. Oshino has already posted a video on his YouTube channel sharing his thoughts, but we haven't heard anything from Nicki and Drake yet. They should team up to record a diss track from the top rope, but most likely, all we'll get from them is a flood of comments and memes on social media.
Below are our favorite excerpts from Jay's songs.
«"Hattie's turning 100 / If she'd have passed away before I cleared my name, I'd have haunted them all / Every one of them playing these silly games / This 1-800 customer hunter wished somebody would come, but 911 is a joke / I'm public enemy number 1, they put me in the same line."»
Shoutout to Tony Buzbee, who'll be practicing law at the mall after Jay's done with him.
«"I'm ruled by God, you tried to break the covenant / I ruled for 40 days, my neck flooded again, my wrists flooded again / My fortune rose again"»
Nobody can talk about MC gods and money like Jiggaman, and it always hits the mark because it's probably true.
«"The Roc Bar ain't collapsing, the leprechauns just magically ran out of pranks / Your son's in federal prison mumbling about having too much alcohol / Do you realize how stupid that is?"»
At least the rap community on Twitter got an incredible meme out of this whole Tory Lanez/Roc Nation situation.
«"That lady's at it again, she sounds like she's in love with him/ Her Ken can't even take the kids... enough of them/ A rapper can't be my opponent, I got MAGA Republicans/ These attacks are coming from the very top of government, good luck to them."»
Nicki has joined forces with the MAGA movement, which is criticizing Jay for his decision to have a Hispanic American headline the Super Bowl halftime show. Now watch this video, and it'll all become clear.
«"You ever heard of a child prodigy? / My kids is one of them, ain't you niggas ashamed? / You tryna get me mad? I'm really mad, ask Una how I play / You thugs with your fingers again / Everybody thinks they crazy / You ain't a maniac, look how he act around me, niggas shaking / I need a new therapist, this shit ain't working, I'm really on edge / You better not encourage him, you don't want me thinking the thoughts that I'm thinking.".
I think we will never see Watch the Throne II , chat.
«"You want one thing, you'll get another/ I'm still yours, you idiots, I'll kill you all, you thugs/ I don't really like meetings, no way/ Cancel brunch, I remember how hungry I was/ The price of drugs is going up, you'll have to pay a billion to even say my name."»
There's just a masterful reference here. to Wire and a clever nod to his "Can I Live/Dear Summer Hot 97" freestyle, where he begins with, "If you put my verse on your records, I want 700 percent," before dissing the likes of The Game and Cassidy for either sampling his voice or attempting to. The line "say my name" could also be seen as a dig at Drake, given that he disses Jay on "Whisper My Name.".
«"That crazy nigga still stuttering/That talker in trouble again/Quest introduced me to Jaguar, don't know why I'm still talking to him."»
Here, he lashes out at three different people. First, he criticizes former Roc-A-Fella artist and State Property member Oshino Vasquez, known for his fast-talking on his podcast and social media, where he often shares his thoughts on Jay and his time at the label. Then, he attacks Dame again, using the term he popularized against him for all the talk he's been doing for years, and finally, he mentions Jaguar Wright for her online conspiracy theories.
«Another one's slipped up, I wonder why they put the blame on me? / These bastards have teeth falling out of their mouths, and somehow it's my fault / It's a murder mystery game.»
He'd been silent for a long time about his former business partner and friend Dame Dash, so these lines provoked a stunned reaction from the public. And, of course, the line about the game can't go unnoticed. «Clue» at the end.
«"My next update is over/ Nigga, I'm 10 points ahead/ Wrong chart, champ, you need to watch again/ Niggas look up to Hov, I never looked up to them/ These motherfuckers took over your publishing house, gangster, go talk to them big/ Don't talk to me about success, you niggas is workers/ Your contracts are permanent, the way they worded"»
Drake deserves credit for even trying to fight a god, but he should have let sleeping dogs lie. Now he'll have to deal with the consequences of being blended again by a more powerful rapper.
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