Jay-Z has torn into Kanye West for supporting U.S. President Donald Trump in a rap on Meek Mill’s new album.
Jay, 48, targeted his former collaborator in the lyrics to What’s Free, Meek’s reworking of the Notorious B.I.G.’s track What’s Beef that also features Rick Ross.
The 99 Problems hitmaker’s contribution to the song references Kanye’s wearing of Trump’s trademark red hat and states that he doesn’t want his and Kanye’s relationship to be poisoned like that of Michael Jackson and Prince.
“No red hat, don’t Michael and Prince me and Ye / They separate you when you got Michael and Prince’s DNA / I ain’t one of these house n**gas you bought / My house like a resort, my house bigger than yours,” he raps on the track.
The term “house n**ga” dates back to the 18th Century when it referred to slaves who lived more comfortably than others by working less physical jobs in their owners’ houses but was used by Malcolm X in the 1960s to describe African-Americans who failed to challenge racism in society.
Jay, real name Shawn Carter, and Kanye were once incredibly close and even recorded and toured an album, Watch the Throne, together – but their relationship has become rockier following the Gold Digger hitmaker’s decision to publicly back Trump, who has been accused of racism.
Explaining their troubled bond, Jay told chat show host David Letterman: “We’re beyond friends. Really, like literally, my little brother is Kanye, and like your little brother, things happen sometimes.”
Meek’s new album, which dropped on Friday, is his first since his release from prison in April. He spent nearly five months in jail due to parole violations on a decade old firearms charge – and Jay was one of a number of stars who called for his release. The 31-year-old rapper, real name Robert Rihmeek Williams, has also spoken out about Kanye’s political leanings – claiming the 41-year-old ignored his advice not to meet Trump.
