I guess people know that I’m a Kanye Apologist about some things, which might explain why several people forwarded me this story to cover. Back in fall ‘16, Kanye West was in the midst of a nervous breakdown, or something adjacent to a nervous breakdown. He ranted and raved on stage during several concerts, and he eventually sought treatment. For months now, he’s seemed a lot better, a lot quieter, and a lot healthier. The state of Kanye’s mental health is no secret, but people debated whether we should hold him to account for the sh-t he said as he was spiraling out of control. I don’t think Kanye should be given a pass, but I also don’t think that we should “punish” him over and over for sh-t he said when he was just days away from checking himself into the UCLA Medical Center for treatment, you know?
Anyway, some of the most notable sh-t he said was about Jay-Z and Beyonce. Kanye ranted about how Jay-Z had disrespected him and his family, that their kids hadn’t played together, and that Beyonce apparently pulled rank about winning Video of the Year at the VMAs (something which no one cares about except Kanye, and maybe Taylor Swift). Kanye also bitched about Jay didn’t reach out enough after Kim was robbed in Paris, and on and on. Jay-Z made some references to the beef in his song “Kill Jay-Z,” and Jay also alluded to the ongoing dispute – and now lawsuit – involving Kanye and Tidal. Anyway, Jay-Z went on the Rap Radar podcast and they asked him about the Yeezy Beef. This is what Jay had to say:
“What really hurt me was, you can’t bring my wife and my kids into it. Like, Kanye is my little brother. He’s talked about me a hundred times, he even made a song called ‘Big Brother.’ We’ve gotten past bigger issues. But you brought my family into it, now it’s a problem,” Jay-Z said.
Adding, “You know it’s a problem because me and him would have been talked about it, been resolved our issues. And he knows crossed the line. He knows. And I know he knows. ‘Cause we’ve never let this much space go between one of our disagreements and we’ve had many. That’s part of who we are.”
I get what Jay is saying and he’s being protective of Beyonce and there should be an unspoken agreement between men that no matter how bad it gets, you don’t sh-t talk a man’s wife and children. That being said… it’s not like Kanye only knows Beyonce as Jay-Z’s wife. Kanye and Beyonce have known each other and been friends for a really long time too. Kanye considers Beyonce to be like a sister to him. Kanye’s criticism was pretty specific: that if Beyonce was really his friend, she would spend time with the people most important to him, his wife and children. We can argue about why Beyonce doesn’t do that – likely because Bey thinks the Kardashians are tacky – but why isn’t that a legitimate reason for Kanye to feel angry? Friends spend time with their friends’ tacky wives and husbands all the time. (That should be a t-shirt.)
Speaking of crossing the line, Jay was asked about Solange and the elevator, and he said: “We’ve always had a great relationship… We’ve had one disagreement. Before and after, we’ve been cool. That’s my sister. Not my sister-in-law, no, my sister. Period.”
Photos courtesy of Getty, Backgrid and WENN.
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