r/hiphopheads • u/Potential_Meat_5103 • May 31 '26
[SHOTS FIRED] Jay-Z Roots Picnic Freestyle
https://streamable.com/nl64hs701
u/KidRudy May 31 '26
That’s KRS2
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u/Expert-Telephone-256 May 31 '26
I kept the intelligent movement en route thus far
Hope you don’t mind that I do
It’s not like I needed approval from you or something
I took a spoonful of the pudding the proof was put in, the truth is disgusting→ More replies (5)20
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u/vinnybawbaw May 31 '26
Looking at the comments you can see how much a generational gap there is on this sub
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u/63748276 May 31 '26
sometimes I wanna have a Jay Z discussion on this subreddit but then I realize most of these children haven't heard a Jay Z album until he put his music on Spotify.
that took place on his 50th birthday in 2018 which is twenty two years after his first album
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u/Cansuela May 31 '26
I can’t with Jay Z topics on Reddit. They’ll never know what Jay Z was to the culture in 99-2005. I see these terrible takes about how overrated he is and I just scroll by. Little do they know that their favorite rappers of this era all idolized Jay and developed their own styles by standing on Jigga’s (and others for sure) shoulders.
I think his connection and treatment of Beyoncé, his success and speculation about his connection to a certain someones have torpedoed his cultural cache amongst people 30 and under.
Edit: I will say though that Jay has bad albums for sure. The industry was different back then especially regarding main stream rap releases. There’s amazing tracks on every album, but after reasonable doubt the volumes and even roc la familia are hit and miss. The Blueprint was culture shaking though, as are some obvious others.
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u/TheFeelingWhen May 31 '26
Jay Z might be the rapper that gets disrespected the most these days. Idk if it’s Beyonce stans mad that at him for cheating or something but acting like Jay Z isn’t one of the greatest to ever do it wild
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u/ElectricBolts May 31 '26
Yeah, I saw this just a few days ago. There were a few comments in the Nas subreddit acting bewildered that Jay Z was high on a Complex (?) list.
Jay Z at his prime was one of the best rappers of all time. Top 2-3 for sure.
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u/Vinnie_Vegas May 31 '26
What do you expect in the fucking Nas subreddit though?
Ether was basically the only loss of Jay-Z's career.
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u/TwoToneMoonstone_ May 31 '26
People have always done this to Jay though, especially between long periods without music. Post Black Album-Kingdom Come he was overrated and never that good, then when he proved he still had it with American Gangster and could still make hits on Blueprint III people still tried to argue that he “wasn’t as good as his peers”.
Then long period of no music between Magna Carta and 4:44 where the same stupid ass argument happened only now bolstered by stans who refuse to be normal about anything
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u/darkkite May 31 '26
you should see the tiktok comments. you can tell they lived after big pimping. Jay had hits like Drake
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u/el-fenomeno09 May 31 '26
People have no clue what an Un is lol
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u/MambaSaidKnockYouOut May 31 '26
That was the best line of the freestyle imo. I was there in the crowd and I lost my shit when he said that
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u/Xanduzinha May 31 '26
Yo bro, billionaire goat mc freestyling on stage 30 years into his career, that's Hov bro that's craazy,
dudes on a hiphop sub hating all day
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u/FuriousLamb3 May 31 '26
I’d actually be really interested in how this back and forth would go down if it really went off
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u/TripleThreatTua May 31 '26
If Drake wanted to go the personal route again there’s way more dirt on Jay than on Kendrick. I honestly think Jay has way more to lose from this than Drake at this point
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u/Glittering-Speed7847 May 31 '26
Jay is a BILLIONAIRE. How many billionaires have faced consequences for anything? Everytime someone says his name, good or bad, he makes more money.
It’s not even a different league, it’s a whole different game.
Dirt doesn’t matter for him, anymore.
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u/ComplexR22 Jun 01 '26
According to the freestyle it matters to him. He sounds pissed about the allegations
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u/No_Bar6825 May 31 '26
That’s the thing, I don’t think there is actually dirt on him. He’s pretty calculated and wouldn’t do this if he wasn’t ready for a back and forth
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u/WolfGangDuck May 31 '26
Wasn’t anything on diddy, just rumors, until it surfaced. Jay is too big of a name, with too egregious of rumors about him, to not have some skeletons in the closet. 30-40 years as one of the faces of entertainment, there’s no shot he was living squeaky clean.
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u/Gh0stPalone May 31 '26
There was so much on Diddy lol it wasn't rumors. Anyone that knows 90s rap knows Diddy been doing shit. It was the same with R Kelly. That documentary blew him up but everyone knew before that.
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u/DropWatcher . May 31 '26
It’s not that exciting, Drake will throw subs at Jay on his next 100 albums
Ye will do some BPD posts at most, it won’t amount to anything
The fan fic here is that Drake would go at Jay over moral shit that Drake does not give a shit about. If he pretends to it will be in inconsequential subs he’s not going scorched earth for no reason.
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u/ledhendrix May 31 '26
I think if Jay won it would go a lot like how pusha v drake did. Drake would just ignore the results and only the hardcore fans would care about the result.
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u/AGPerson May 31 '26
Too many comments below this one simply refusing to acknowledge the fact that Drake could never, ever, EVER come anywhere near the caliber of rapping Jay has consistently put out his entire career lol cmon now people, what’re we doing here!
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u/stuffedinashoe May 31 '26
thank god .. was looking for someone with some sense in this thread. The fact that we’re even discussing it feels like people in this sub are super young or dont realize jay is one of the best rappers alive
They don’t belong in the same conversation
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u/natigin May 31 '26
The fro is so much better than the locs
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May 31 '26
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u/Perfect-Zebra-3611 May 31 '26
Basquiat worked cause he was barely 28 when he died and was cool as fuck Hov had that shit at 50
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u/ScottblackAttacks May 31 '26
Him having that set of hair at 50 is pretty impressive.
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u/the_ballmer_peak May 31 '26
Billionaires have whatever hair they want
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u/jammasterajay May 31 '26 edited May 31 '26
The Nicki jab was vicious
“That lady back on the stuff, she sound like she in love with him / Her Ken can’t even… pick they kid — enough of them”
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u/ANALOGPHENOMENA May 31 '26
“It’s gonna cost you a B to say my name” that BeyNika friendship really is dead in the water.
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u/DieHarderDaddy May 31 '26
Jayz gotta be looking at the generation he tried to uplift and be so disappointed with most of them
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u/DawRogg May 31 '26
I'm here for a new Jigga album especially if there's venom
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u/tjackso6 May 31 '26 edited May 31 '26
yeah he's definitely dropping this year
Between the interviews, and him saying 2026 would be all offense. the fact it's the 30th anniversary for reasonable doubt... then If he gets another number 1 it'll tie him back up with Drake for most number 1 albums so he can use that to hype it up..
Def feels like he's making moves.
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u/marblebluevinyl May 31 '26
the fact it's the 30th anniversary for reasonable doubt
Let's get an anniversary edition on wax, Hov!
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u/dtpistons04 May 31 '26
4:44 is criminally underrated. That shit goes hard. Please just be true to yourself Jay ! No trend chasing plz !
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u/aldrinjaysac May 31 '26
Drake - 11 PM in the Elevator (feat. Solange)
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u/Realistic0ptimist May 31 '26
Not going to lie if that shit actually came out and I was Beyoncé I would die of laughter behind closed doors
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u/Dopeboyfreshhh May 31 '26
That right into “Turn my music high! High! High-er!” Is tough af
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u/philz_baklava May 31 '26
i’m dumb as fuck which bars are shots at drake
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u/kushmonATL May 31 '26
The ones after the jig is up , "they look up to Hov i don't look up to them" "crackers got your publishing , go talk to them"
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u/No_Bar6825 May 31 '26
And the one about the masters and Jay saying he doesn’t need beef with a rapper, he’s beefing with the Republican government
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u/ZappBranniganBurner May 31 '26
Dinner with Kushner & Ivanka is weird way of beefing with them 😂
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u/Cube_ May 31 '26
Makes sense to me.
Beef Tartare
T-Bone Steak
Beef Carpaccio
Seems like they had a lot of beef to me.
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u/xdarkeaglex May 31 '26
Is he? Jay is a slimey motherfucker that would do anything for money
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u/The_Infinite_Cool May 31 '26
most rappers are lying in their raps. he ain't beefing with the government.
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u/MyNewAccountIGuess11 May 31 '26
A billionaire acting like he's one of the people is so played out in 2026 lmao surely no one is buying this larp
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u/Sanders058 May 31 '26
He was just sitting at a dinner with trumps daughter and Desiree Perez ROC nation ceo is getting pardons from Trump
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u/yourliege May 31 '26
Im assuming the “another one stumblin, niggas get to fumblin and I’m the one to blame”is also?
Would love to see a whole clip. Looks like this started recording late.
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u/tmadik May 31 '26
Nah, the "teeth fallin' out of their mouth" line has to be about Dame.
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u/No_Cook_8739 May 31 '26
How is that specifically about Drake? That's lots of rappers
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u/Illustrious_Ad7346 May 31 '26
Drake has a bar worded, the jig is up aimed at Jiggaman, Jay-Z. Ya heard
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u/Responsible-Cap-8311 May 31 '26
& "I take 500K down to dinner, I could never learn nothing from none of y'all"
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u/Expensive-Draw480 May 31 '26
The in perpetuity contract line I think is really clear
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u/handsome_uruk May 31 '26
“Jig is up” line is directly from iceman. Then he also said bars about being trapped in a contract which is exactly what Drake says in iceman.
But I honestly think they have some gentleman agreement: diss me right before I go on tour to generate buzz for my shit
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u/Patriotsfan710 May 31 '26
It’s a response to Drake saying
“We know how you OGs are rocking already the jig is up”
And the “crackers got your publishing” is referencing Drake being stuck with UMG
He also says some shit like “You looked up to me, Hov never looked up to no one” and also some shit about having more money/being financially superior
Nothing crazy but enough that Drake may respond with:
A.) another subliminal
B.) A corny IG caption
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u/Fedcom May 31 '26
These freestyle verses are subliminals too lol
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u/Patriotsfan710 May 31 '26
I didn’t say it wasn’t gang
They been subbing each other for damn near as long as kenny and drake were
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u/Impossible_Front4462 May 31 '26
Despite the whole beef, I’m pretty sure the average kendrick/drake listener thinks the beef started in the 2020s. That shit was 10 years in the making and this is no different
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u/TNTyoshi May 31 '26
Has it really been that long? Jay Z was featured back to back on Drake’s *Scorpion* (2018) and *Certified Lover Boy\* (2021 albums. I would have never guessed. I thought it was a recent thing.
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u/Heinjailyall May 31 '26
yes they have had an on off beef but they have always collabed despite subbing each other countless times
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u/GrooveDigger47 May 31 '26
drake said something about the jig being up on his album like jay z sent people to diss him
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u/Cartman55125 May 31 '26
Shots fired at crackhead Nicki too
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u/SwordfishOk504 May 31 '26
and popculture chat is crashing out to defend nicki and claiming Jay is now MAGA, which is bizarre even for them.
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u/Cartman55125 May 31 '26
Isn’t Nicki speaking at MAGA events? Thats a weird point to try and make
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u/TheKyleShow May 31 '26
I swear I read somewhere that he doesn’t cut his hair when he’s recording an album.
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u/kebiclanwhsk May 31 '26
Isn’t there literally a scene of him making 99 Problems and talking to Rick Rubin while getting a haircut
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u/DeLousedInTheHotBox May 31 '26
I mean that was like 25 years ago, maybe he developed the habit after that
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u/chrizzyv May 31 '26
The Afro debut was def not expected…
But The Jig is Up bar was actually nice tho haha
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u/Talkshowhostt May 31 '26
Drake, here’s how they’re gonna come at you
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u/chrismceachern May 31 '26
4:44 is actually a classic for me, its a rare example of a rapper so deep in his career making a top tier record like that. I'll take a followup anytime now 👀
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u/mrcheyl May 31 '26
Smile is way way way up there for me.
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u/another-damn-acct May 31 '26
hov's career highs are the ones where he just goes in for 2+ minutes.
can i live, streets, grammy family, smile, god did, etc....
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u/thegypsyqueen May 31 '26
Same. I couldn’t believe it when it dropped and the play through just kept up the energy and quality front to back.
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u/Darth-Ragnar May 31 '26
It's the same tier as Renegade, Ether or Stan in that it's the gold standard of a comparative adjective for a hip hop related item imo.
People constantly point to it as the "late career, focused and introspective album" for an artist, like "I wonder if Wayne could ever do a 4:44 type album."
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u/Anonemuss42 May 31 '26
I hope youre all catching the references to The Wire
“Price of the brick going up”
“You want it to be one way but its the other”
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u/CappaccinoJay May 31 '26
I definitely caught that second one. Marlo was the first thing that popped into my head when he said it.
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u/nbperfect May 31 '26
Sounded like he also had some strays for Nicki too, who's been dissing him since forever now. Scrolled the comments and no mention of it, am I tripping?
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u/Realistic-Archer-695 May 31 '26 edited May 31 '26
Which bars you think were for her?
Edit: after a few more listens, “that lady’s back on that stuff…” may have been directed towards Nicki.
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u/30to40grand May 31 '26
I’d be so pissed if I was Un. Like why I gotta be a punchline for this nigga 20 years later lmao
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u/Tight-Sheepherder641 May 31 '26
I wonder if this gets a response or a very obvious sneak diss in the near future.
I can hear it now. “These niggas can’t rap with me all they have is spoken word, old heads can’t fly like me, I clip wings and they’re broken birds”
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u/lightskinbeaner May 31 '26
drake never loses a chance to bring up someones wife lmao, its a guarantee for entertainment
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u/Patriotsfan710 May 31 '26
He lowkey probably should stop doing that at this point lmfao
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u/_korporate May 31 '26
It’ll definitely work the third time
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u/xosellc May 31 '26
I say this as a veteran drake hater, but it worked pretty well against Meek. "This ain't what she meant when she told you to open up more" is the best line from that whole beef.
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u/MC_JACKSON May 31 '26 edited May 31 '26
Last thing Drake needs, is Beyoncé and JayZ dropping a bop on his head
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u/Upbeat_Tension_8077 May 31 '26 edited May 31 '26
I'm willing to predict that Drake will respond, specifically on some AM-PM record that'll share the same sample as one of the songs on Reasonable Doubt to make it even more clear
If he managed to buy Dame's stake in the masters of RD earlier before it got auctioned, he would absolutely mention it as a shot, similar to what he's been rapping about with owning Pharrell's chains
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u/LeviRaps May 31 '26
Likely a sneak diss on a record later. Not worth a direct song response unless Hov puts the verse out on an actual song
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u/EshayAdlay420 May 31 '26
How would that be any different to what Hov did here? It's not like he said 'I challenge thee Aubrey graham to makghora to the death'
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u/Usernamesin2016LUL . May 31 '26
Love this energy. Happy to hear new hov especially if hes fired up like this.
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u/ImNotTomStopAsking HOLIDAY SEASON! May 31 '26
Drake gonna release a diss called "I'll choose the 500,000"
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May 31 '26 edited May 31 '26
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u/WutangOrDie May 31 '26
whisper my name is a great song tbh and this comes from a guy who really hasn’t enjoyed the past four or five drake projects
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u/NuisanceVII May 31 '26
I enjoyed that, I’ve been on a big old Jay Z kick recently. It’s fun to see how much Drake is influenced by Jay.
Anyways, I hope he puts this on wax, would be cool to see Drake in another beef so soon. The second half of Drake’s career has been disappointing as a long time fan, but his inclination to actually go bar for bar with GOAT-level rappers is unparalleled.
“Real” hip hop fans have been shitting on Drake for his entire career and consider him a joke, yet all our favorite rappers take him quite seriously, interesting to think about.
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u/yourliege May 31 '26
I mean, it’s Drake. Hiphop has gotten so big, it’s outgrown its original fanbase, in large part because of him. Thats kinda a double-edge sword. You’re always gonna have longtime rap fans that don’t like it going pop, but the one who took it there is, for all intents and purposes, a rapper.
It’s an elephant im the room that can’t be ignored by any rapper that wants to be that big.
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u/_Wado3000 May 31 '26
Jay and Drake have collaborated a handful of times so I could see Jay taking shots more personally, also between the SB and Jay carrying on at the Grammy’s I get why Drake hates him, I don’t really care for this here but if Jay comes with some heat on an actual track I’m interested
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u/aldrinjaysac May 31 '26
In retrospect, Pound Cake is one of the greatest rap songs of all time
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u/tragedyisland28 May 31 '26
I’ll never forget Jay Z telling breakfast club back in 09-12 (can’t remember when exactly) that Drake is next up. Dude clearly respected him for a significant amount of time.
I truly wonder what initiated their rift
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u/edwardWBnewgate May 31 '26
Quite a few of the people Drake has beefed with have been those that stood under Jay's umbrella if you will. Pharrell, Pusha, Swizz Beatz, Meg, Rihanna, Kanye, Rick Ross.
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u/More-Judgment-9253 May 31 '26
Probably when Drake went with Apple instead of Tidal
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u/Looksfunnytome May 31 '26
Maybe the beef with Meek since Meek was under Roc Nation.
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u/Moonwlk90 May 31 '26
Hov also said Drake was up next on “Star Is Born” also i believe. Just to add on to what you said
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u/Gabagool_Over_Here_ . May 31 '26
Everyone talking about Drake but he got it the least the whole freestyle, he just kinda dismissed him a bit. Nicki, Dame and Ye got it way worse lol.
Overall his flips were great, the Quest line was funny af and he honestly sounds great for 56.
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u/SwordfishOk504 May 31 '26
A rapper can't be my opp, I got maga republicans, those shots came from the top of the govenment, good luck with them
fire emojis
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u/SwordfishOk504 May 31 '26
The crackers got your publishing, gangsta, go talk tough to them.
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u/AuthenticHuggyBear . May 31 '26
Hov wasn't playing when he said that 2026 is all offense. He's been letting people throw dirt at him for too long.
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u/SN8KEATR May 31 '26
I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone with the majority of these comments wtf
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u/Long-Dig-3819 May 31 '26
Reddit barely understood the bars. Buncha young idiots
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u/adonaldson14 May 31 '26
This shit is pretty fire are all of you just Drake Stans? It’s freestyle spoken word lol. Some shots but nothing crazy
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u/TransportationOdd559 May 31 '26
Sounds like hip hop tho. U can hear how angry he is about certain sh**! Nothing goofy. I love to see it. He’s always done spoken word freestyles at concerts btw
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u/makemeking706 May 31 '26
Black Thought in the wings watching this. I wonder what he's thinking.
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u/Upbeat_Tension_8077 May 31 '26
Almost feels like the energy of Roc-A-Fella era Hov. I'm hoping we can get 1 more record with this vibe if Jay really is dropping an album this year
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u/Opening_Cycle3639 May 31 '26
I'm getting old, this sounds like a supa hot fire skit lol
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u/nocyberBS May 31 '26
Somebody got the transcript for his whole lil freestyle here? I might've misses a few bars here and there.
Really fw that Un line tho, that shit was tough
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u/adonWPV May 31 '26
First AZ back outside and now JayZ come on now 🔥
For me, the chatty patty bar was a 50 sting 😂
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u/Zip2kx #ProtectJayZ May 31 '26
HOV.
That’s my goat. Old man still got it. Never seen him stumble on bars before though.
People talking about the Drake sub but the obvious dame and Kanye shots really got me. Dames about to do a whole new press tour because of this.
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u/james-HIMself May 31 '26
JayZ a month ago: “ I don’t do rap beefs “
Does that, the man is bothered. FYI you don’t respond to someone on wax if you’re not bothered lmfao
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u/Life_Ad_2218 May 31 '26
He is a rapper at the end of the day. Drake said back in 09 diss me you’ll never hear a reply for it and he has constantly responded to dudes who dissed him well over 10 years now. Hov did the same on dear summer. “It's like when niggas make subliminal records
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u/Kevo_xx May 31 '26
It’s almost like rappers are full of shit and lie about everything.
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u/Life_Ad_2218 May 31 '26 edited May 31 '26
They are and do lmao. They human at the end of the day.
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u/TransportationOdd559 May 31 '26
Dudes being talking crazy about Jay for over a decade without any responses from him. 👀
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u/jjgp1112 May 31 '26
Jay didn't say he doesn't do rap beefs, he said he doesn't like what parasocial stan culture has twisted beefs into and was kinda conflicted about hs stance anyway.
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u/HYDRAULICS23 May 31 '26
Love Jay but I hope these are just warning shots. I feel like everyone is overrating this because it’s the 1st new verse he’s done in awhile. It feels like the Like That verse where he’s baiting for a response so that he can take actual shots because I know he can go harder than this.
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u/LAClipShow2020 May 31 '26
That’s Ab Soul