S. Samuel
Grammy-winning rapper Jay-Z has wasted no time allowing "inside sources" stir rumors about him beefing with fellow Throne member Kanye West and addressed the gossip in full.
Speaking with New York’s Hot 97 radio personality Angie Martinez, Young Hov simply laughed off the beef talk.
“Yes, we get on each other’s nerves. But that’s part of pushing each other. We push each other,” Jay told Ang. “The people that have a problem with Kanye or myself are people who are complacent in life. People don’t like to be pushed. It’s like annoying. It’s a thing when people are pushing you to be greater, and we push each other to be greater. So of course there are times when we’re in the studio and we’re yelling, but that’s about it. I would never disrespect that man. I have so much respect for him.” (Hot 97)
Hov also dismissed concerns about his collaborative project ending with a beef, much like his R.Kelly-featured Best of Both Worlds project did in the mid-2000’s.
“Yeah, that was a tough one. But it’s almost like anything in life,” Jay added. “You can’t let that situation affect you going forward…Especially working with genius talent. He is a genius talent. It’s just that he has other things on his mind.” (Hot 97)
Earlier today, reports of Jay and Ye being at one another’s necks landed online.
“Jay-Z can’t deal with Kanye,” an insider told Page Six. “Jay is a stone-cold businessman. He wants to recoup all of his money from Live Nation. But Kanye wants to upstage rock stars with a blowout show. He doesn’t care about costs. He has a lot less to gain from the shows.” West is expected to agree to the conditions of the tour next week, but the business brouhaha between the powerhouse artists might have affected their backstage relationship. (New York Post)
In a recent Watch the Throne mini-documentary, Jay proclaimed Yeezy’s greatness.
“Kanye, I’ve seen him, he’s really like a brother to me,” Jay says in the documentary. “I’ve seen him from the beginning to where he is now and to see him as a producer and how he’s grown as a producer and an artist, for me, on another level, it’s enjoyable. I’m watching the guy I pretty much mentored become his own guy with his own opinion, it’s fantastic.” (“Watch the Throne” Mini-Doc)
Watch the Throne is slated to drop on August 8th via iTunes.
Check out some recent Jay-Z footage below:
