Business Frenemies: Kanye West and Jay-Z Relationship Timeline

Kanye West and Jay-Z are two very big names in the Rap industry. With hits like “Ni***s in Paris” and “No Church in the Wild”, the two have released multiple well-known songs. However, their relationship doesn’t seem to be as steady as their song releases. We take you through the Kanye West and Jay-Z relationship timeline and how the two have gone from friends to former business partners.

Getting Acquainted

The two met in 2000. Kanye was still known more as a producer than an artist, and he had just made “This Can’t Be Life” for Jay-Z. The two quickly started to butt heads, as Kanye said in an interview that he preferred the more simple version of Jay-Z over the more introspective version of him (Genius).

Though it did take a while, Jay-Z did eventually sign Kanye to his label in 2002. According to TIME Magazine, Jay-Z said that he saw Kanye as a person who never struggled while everyone else had to do what they had to do to get by, and later stated that he wasn’t sure how it was going to work. The wait led fans to believe that Jay-Z was reluctant to sign, but he was signed nonetheless.

A Complicated Relationship

In 2007, Kanye released the song “Big Brother,” which spoke about the rocky relationship between the two (People).

In multiple interviews, Jay-Z has claimed to be a “big brother” of sorts to Kanye, so this song shows Kanye’s views on the matter. It’s clear that he agrees that they have a sibling like relationship, and some of the lyrics show the love that Kanye has for Jay-Z. These lyrics include:

“But he got me out my momma crib

Then he help me get my momma a crib,”

showing that Jay-Z supported Kanye, so much so that he helped the rapper buy a house for his mom. However, other lyrics show how their relationship can be complicated at times, almost contradicting the earlier ones. These lyrics include:

“Big brother got his show up at Madison Square

And I’m like “Yeah, yeah, we gon’ be there” but

Not only did I not get a chance to spit it

Carline told me I could buy two tickets

I guess big brother was thinkin’ a little different

And kept little brother at bay, at a distance”

In 2011, Kanye and Jay-Z came out with studio album Watch the Throne. Jay-Z said for the album to be a joint effort, they needed to be in the studio together in person to record, leading them to spend a lot of time together. He said it was fun to watch Kanye grow as an artist that he mentored and he was proud of how far he came (The Most Unruly).

However, before the album dropped, the two got into a disagreement about whether they should drop a single or not. Kanye won the disagreement which led to the release of “H.A.M.” Unfortunately, this did not give fans the hype that Kanye was expecting it to give. Jay-Z said he didn’t want to put the song out because he didn’t want to give fans one small thing to nitpick at, which is seemingly exactly what they did. They continued on with the album nonetheless and released it in August.

Shots Fired

In 2014, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian got married. Jay-Z and Beyonce did not attend this wedding, as they took a trip to the Hamptons instead. When asked how he felt about that, Kanye said he didn’t care and was just happy that his wife Kim was there. However, he later performed at Bonnaroo and took Jay-Z’s name out of multiple songs, one being “Touch the Sky.”

At a Sacramento concert in 2016, Kanye West expressed his hurt over North West and Blue Ivy never having a playdate. He also was hurt over Jay-Z and Beyonce’s lack of response after Kim’s robbery, stating that instead of calling him, they should’ve “come by the house.”

Jay-Z was quiet about Kanye’s comments until 2017 when he came out with the album 4:44. He took shots at Kanye with lyrics in his songs including:

“You dropped outta school, you lost your principles

I know people backstab you, I felt bad too

But this ‘f**k everybody’ attitude ain’t natural”

Another one stated:

“’F**k wrong with everybody?’ is what you sayin’

But if everybody’s crazy, you’re the one that’s insane.”

Tidal

Back in 2015, Jay-Z relaunched “Tidal”. Kanye showed his support on stage with other artists like J. Cole and Nicki Minaj. His album at the time was set to be only on Tidal. However, after some financial discrepancies, Kanye claimed that Tidal owed him 3 million dollars, and when he attempted to leave they threatened to sue him for breaking contract (People). He eventually was able to leave, but continued to talk about his lack of payment and benefits he was allegedly promised.

Calming down

In November of 2017, Jay-Z in an interview opened up about Kanye’s rants. He said he didn’t like that Kanye brought his wife and child to it, and that made the situation a problem. However, Jay-Z said there was genuine love there. Some things were unacceptable and needed to be talked out, but they have a loving relationship (NY Times).

As of 2021 they seemed to have fixed things for the most part. They were at least cool enough with each other for listeners to hear Jay-Z on Kanye’s album Donda, which came out in August of that year.

Since then, their relationship has mostly left the limelight. While Kanye has had his controversies including his Anti-Semitic posts and running for president, Jay-Z hasn’t made many public responses since then. That being said, they have made many great works moments together so let’s hope they put their beef to rest.

Image Credit: Kanye West – Gregg DeGuire / Stringer | Getty Images
Jay-Z – Leon Bennett / Stringer | Getty Images

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