In case you thought Jay Z just rapped about his marriage now, please allow him to re-introduce himself. On Meek Mill’s new track, “What’s Free?”, the Jigga Man points weapons-grade lyrics at the President of the United States, and not —as many online have speculated— at his former collaborator Kanye West. Well, not directly, anyway.
“No red hat, don’t Michael and Prince me and Ye / They separate you when you got Michael and Prince’s DNA,” Jay raps. The line seems to address West’s well-publicized love for MAGA hats, as well as the famous rivalry between Michael Jackson and Prince, who challenged each other for R&B supremacy throughout the ’80s. The verse continues to throw shade with: “I ain’t one of these house ni**as you bought / My house like a resort, my house bigger than yours / My spou- C’mon man.”
On first listen, many have tried to connect the cut off “spouse” line to West’s wife, Kim Kardashian. But, further examinations show Hov throwing swipes at Trump. In January, the President asked in a tweet (of course) if someone could “inform Jay-Z” that he was the reason black unemployment was allegedly at “the lowest rate ever recorded,” after Jay had words for him on CNN’s Van Jones Show.
(An aside: The black unemployment rate is the lowest it’s ever been, but it has much less to do with Trump’s policies than he asserts.) All of this being said, there is one line where Jay does insinuate that West is in the pocket of Big Government: “My hair free, carefree, ni**as ain’t near free / Enjoy your chains, what’s your employer name? With the hairpiece?”
But, even with all of the controversy surrounding Jay’s contribution, this remains a Meek Mill song. He shares the mental toll of constant imprisonment, both figurative and literal, by a corrupt system: “Seein’ how I prevailed now they try to knock me back / Lock me in the cell for all them nights and I won’t snap.” (Meek’s been in and out of prison since he was 18 years old, for various offenses.) This would have been the standout portion of the song, if Jay Z weren’t there. Rick Ross is there, too, but he doesn’t bring anything great to the table, unless you find homophobic use of the “f” slur great. Spoiler alert: It’s not.
Despite years of friendship and music—including the co-headlining album Watch The Throne in 2011—West and JAY-Z began to fall out in 2016. However, in a November 2017 interview with Dean Baquet for the New York Times Style Magazine, Jay revealed that he’s back on speaking terms with Kanye. “[I talked to] Kanye the other day, just to tell him, like, he’s my brother…we gonna always be good,” he said.
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“Meek’s been in and out of prison since he was 18 years old, for various offenses by a corrupt system.” Oh, you mean crimes?
Ur a dipshit
Meek Mill’s biggest crime is coming up with the supidest rapper name. Meek Mill? I can’t take the guy seriously.
It’s awful for sure, but until KYLE comes up with a different stage name, it won’t be the worst.
Meek Mill: sounds like an organic bakery
He got a 2-to-4 year sentence for popping a wheelie on a dirt bike on Instagram, because somehow he’s still on parole for a weapons-possession charge he caught 10 years ago. Also, the judge who’s been overseeing his case is currently under FBI investigation, and the cop who arrested him way back when he was a teenager was included on the Philly PD’s internal list of its most corrupt officers. But yeah, sure, throw away the key.
The original crime Meek Mill was alleged to have commited was cited by a cop who was banned from allowing testimoney because he kept making shit up once a clean DA was elected. The judge who is handling his case is actually under FBI investigation for her conduct, which, uh: Meek’s attorney, Joe Tacopina, made several allegations of inappropriate statements and actions from Brinkley, including that “she requested he re-record a Boyz II Men song and shout her out, and how she wanted him to leave Roc Nation to sign with a friend of hers” and that “she showed up at his community service” when a typical judge would not do that, among several other irregularities.That’s what they mean by a corrupt system. How is it that a man can have to deal with all this bullshit when, had he had just a few more thousand dollars, he could’ve affluenza’d his way out of this? We just read this week that, if you have enough money, you can get your own private jail to live in and a sweetheart deal despite serial sexual abuse of minors. Miss me with this cute shit.
Sorry for derailing your well-formed argument and giving that faux-innocent question the curbstomping it deserves but with that username I just can’t help myself… I bet Meek Mill wishes he was in Sherbrooke now, am I right?
Are you not familiar with the details of Meek’s imprisonment and fucking 13 year probation? He got locked up last for doing a god damn wheelie on a motorcycle and was sentenced to 2-4 years for that shit by a corrupt judge. So i mean, sure he’s broken the law. He’s also been wildly over punished by an unjust system.
lol zing!
There is a reasonable discussion about whether the punishment he has received over the years has been heavy-handed to be had. There is no question that the judge who locked him up has abused her power and probably will be prosecuted at some point. But, something tells me, and I’m just guessing here, that you don’t actually want to be a part of that conversation.
maybe rap shit shouldn’t be posted on a predominately white bread site like AV Club. especially after Kinja
Oh cool, your house is bigger than his. I mean Jay-Z is fine and please, by all means, shit on Tiny all day every day. But you’re coming after him by unzipping and playing his dick measuring contest and going “NO I AM RICHER”. It isn’t impressive. It is corny as fuck and, I’m sorry, revealing.Jay-Z turning himself into a glorified CEO character like 15 years ago was what bored me to ignoring him, too, so whatever.Also. The guys in question elsewhere in the lyrics. Prince/ Michael they ain’t. So.
Disagree – that’s the only currency that Trump values. So, winning on his playing field is the way to go. No MAGA person, much less Trump, cares about things like right and wrong or decency. You want to win with those idiots? Stunt on them. This is the third time Jay-Z has impressed me in about a decade (Story of OJ and Ni**as in Paris being the other two). Good to see him actually trying again.
Nah. If the best you’ve got is “MY HOUSE IS BIGGER,” then skip it.We’re not talking about anything that’s going to move any kind of needle so make some good art instead. Jumping in the mud with him and putting out a dopey product as a result isn’t “stunting on him,” it is getting played by him.
Good thing he said a lot more than “my house is bigger”.
Not really.
“No MAGA person, much less Trump, cares about things like right and wrong or decency.” – Stupid thing to say.
“You want to win with those idiots? Stunt on them.” – Also stupid: thinking that if all of one cares about is materialistic concerns that house size would be more impressive than being the most powerful human on earth.
huge mansion vs. command of a fleet of nuclear subs.
“No MAGA person, much less Trump, cares about things like right and wrong or decency.” – Stupid thing to say.
“You want to win with those idiots? Stunt on them.” – Also stupid: thinking that if all of one cares about is materialistic concerns that house size would be more impressive than being the most powerful human on earth.
huge mansion vs. command of a fleet of nuclear subs.
That’s good beef, but can you make it rhyme?
1990s Jay-Z saying “I got a nicer car than you, fuck you” – gloriously entertaining2000s Jay-Z saying “I’m
a CEO, fuck you” – moderately irritating2010s Jay-Z saying “I’m
a billionaire with a Basquiat collection, and here’s why you are partially to
blame for not pulling yourself out of poverty” – go fuck yourself
Exactly.
maybe rap shit shouldn’t be posted on a predominately white bread site like AV Club. especially after Kinja
Hey sniper stop missing the forest because a tree is blocking your scope. The house line is just a jab to erk the president, and if the insecurity he has shown about literally everything is genuine, it likely did piss him off. The verse overall is about how black people are still oppressed in America, because they are.
His best line is the first one.
In the land of the free, where the blacks enslavedThe point is America has always been full of shit.
Hey sniper stop missing the forest because a tree is blocking your scope.Its like hey, I’ve heard that saying, but you know, not like this! Clever, man.The verse overall is about how black people are still oppressed in America, because they are.I agree. I was referring to the line I was referring to in my OP though. Not his overall point.In the land of the free, where the blacks enslavedThe point is America has always been full of shit.The point was also that his house is bigger, though. Lame.
Also, if that’s your best line—yikesface emoji.
Its like hey, I’ve heard that saying, but you know, not like this! Clever, man. Thanks! I was rather proud of it. Honestly, I wasn’t all that enamored with the song as everyone else seems to be. If your gonna rap over an iconic song it better be fire, but I do approve of what I think the verses intent was. I just think it was Jay trying to piss off DJT and that kind of stuff matters to him. He just dropped his why I left NY nonsense and the big takeaway was his 2000 acres in NJ are just so much better than going into the city. So with that in mind, its… fine.
“I was referring to the line I was referring to in my OP though. Not his overall point.”And yet, when someone tells you he said more than that line, you say, “Not really.”You tell him to, “skip it,” if the line you refer to is, “the best [he’s] got,” willfully ignoring the rest of his message.It’s almost like you just don’t like Jay-Z and have latched on to one line that seems worse out of context in order to… ??? Convince people you’re right about Jay-Z?
And yet, when someone tells you he said more than that line, you say, “Not really.”Hi, Ryan. I was not being literal here. It is an bland overall message and the obvious centerpiece is him flexing to the big rich asshole by acting like a big rich asshole. So, “not really.” I do see that speaking literally, he said other things. You tell him to, “skip it,” if the line you refer to is, “the best [he’s] got,” willfully ignoring the rest of his message.I’m sorry pal, this doesn’t make any sense. I think its pretty clear I was saying that if that line is the best you can do in “coming for” Donald Trump, skip coming for Donald Trump this go-round. I wasn’t talking about the rest of the “message.”It’s almost like you just don’t like Jay-ZNothing gets by you, Ryan.and have latched on to one line that seems worse out of contextIt doesn’t seem so hot in context, either. It was just dumb and lame. Your mileage may vary on that, my man, such is life. I don’t really get into stanning for mega-rich dudes falling all over themselves to tell me how much richer they are than their enemy, another rich asshole like it proves some impressive point.in order to… ??? Convince people you’re right about Jay-Z?Um, yeah? I’m sorry, is that a problem for you? Lol.I know you wanted to paint me as the nasty irrational Jay Z hater but this is some serious LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE-ing dude. I like Jay Z the person fine enough, his POV in his work has sucked for over a decade. I’m sorry if I hurt you in attempting to point that out, Ryan.Dude puffed his chest at DJT and came with “my house is bigger.” Everything you could say in coming for the guy and you choose something personally financially boastful. He took a shot at him and missed the target by a mile that’s like not being able to hit the ocean with a rock. It’s ineffective, revealing, boring, and not much different than what DJT would say himself. Fucking lame.
You didn’t hurt me, you annoyed me by being a dick to people for no reason. See, I basically agree with you about refusing to celebrate rich asshole swinging around their bank accounts around. Here’s the thing, though: you’re just a not-rich asshole, which is only tangibly better because of the smaller influence you have on the world around you.So, whatever, be a flippant dick who assumes people don’t like you because of what you say. Know that it’s because of how you say it, though.
You cooked up a half-baked rebuttal when you largely agree because I was being playfully flippant in the comments section of an internet article?Dude. Go find some bigger fish to fry. Its all in good fun, we’re talking about rap lyrics. I didn’t get personal with anyone, we’re shooting the shit here.Get a life, man.
Yeah I was going to respond to them but I can see that they are obviously a super hater of Jay so it’s pointless. Haters gunna hate.
He’s always done that in his songs. In fact, look up “feelin it” off his first album. Hov has always been a mixture of talent and radio music. His first album is my favorite of his, but its nothing compared to 90% of all the amazing albums that we’re released on the same dayhttps://www.google.com/search?q=june+25+1996+hip+hop+albums&oq=june+25+1996+hip+hop
sounds like a very lame and corny attempt to mock trump. “i’m very rich and still friends with lunatic kanye” isn’t an attack on trump at all. jay-z is a pussy
This is more of a rundown of things Jill Hopkins hates rather than a discussion of Jay-Z’s contribution to a song.
I know right? Whatever happened to objective reporting in hip hop?
There is no such thing as objective reporting at all. Y’all new redditor types are dumb as hell.
maybe rap shit shouldn’t be posted on a predominately white bread site like AV Club. especially after Kinja
Oh shit, Trump is definitely fucked now.
maybe rap shit shouldn’t be posted on a predominately white bread site like AV Club. especially after Kinja
?
I read this and I still don’t understand how it’s an attack on Trump. “Spou-“ equals attack on Trump? Huh?
it’s heavily implied he couldn’t complete the line because Melania could never measure up to Beyonce. thanks for reading.
Meanwhile, Drake brought Chris Brown on stage and told everyone how much respect he has for him.
oh God shut up bitch
neither one of them are in this fucking article
unless you find homophobic use of the “f” slur great. Spoiler alert: It’s not.You said it. I’m so sick of this shit in hip-hop when half those homophobes are grazing on Grindr, looking for a little dude-lust on the down-low.
?
Ughhhh…. about the Rick Ross verse.First of all, he only says “f****t” once, doesn’t excuse him, but don’t pretend like he uses it multiple times as your article implies.
Second
of all, the verse is about known child-molestor Tekashi 6ix9ine [i hate
myself for looking up the proper spelling] and his recent law troubles.
I know AV Club is full of corny white people, but at least do your research.
I mean Jay-Z doesn’t even write his own lyrics so who cares.
i really do feel for jay and kanyes friendship. but i really really want someone to save kanye from himself. he’s out here coonin’ around looking a mess and i am mad and sad all at the same time.
so like his wife, he conveniently becomes an “activist” when he has something to sell you.
Jill Hopkins supports convicts raping young men. She took a shot at Ross for calling rapist faggots. You can tell when weirdos who aren’t apart of the culture decide to speak on it. Like them punk pissy bitches from the guardian who no nothing about Ice Cubes contribution to hip hop in the past ten years.Please stick to Adam Levine, Robin Thicke, Slim Shady or whoever.
I’d take him more seriously if he wasn’t impersonating DL Hughley
Jay-Z is proud of his wife? The same one he loves so much he cheated on? Okay, cool. Talented, but a POS as a husband and father.
,
I dont typically post on boards but what’s nice about the track is the perspectives. You have 3 distinct rappers at different stages in life/career/being black rapping about real issues and the culture that needs to evolve (and is evolving) right now. Meek Mills false imprisonment, Rick Ross somewhere in the middle always will be viewed as glorified gangster and J as the veteran who achieved every level and can help pave the way and provide more weight and exposure to the track.Meek very hard right now. This track and album is very real. Its more Meek than Jay. Js there as the endorsement to Meek for a great track and album. Don’t critique too much bc this is real rap. I’d hope most people would agree this is the right direction for what rap should be, at least in the northeast. Meek is the closest thing to an undeniable face to a legit new East coast rapper that has been up and coming in the last 10 years. Other than rhat, stay true to L O X 😉
Ughhhh…. about the Rick Ross verse.First of all, he only says “f****t” once, doesn’t excuse him, but don’t pretend like he uses it multiple times as your article implies.
Second of all, the verse is about known child-molestor Tekashi 6ix9ine [i hate myself for looking up the proper spelling] and his recent law troubles.
I know AV Club is full of corny white people, but at least do your research.
This is hilarious… You have a 2 celebrities who think they know politics…… Jay z and trump. Jays music single handedly inspired a generation of drug dealing murderers in the black community glorifying drug sales and murder for the love of cotton and ink (money) that is printed all day to keep you picking cotton lol and he isnt holding the black community down lol someone nuke america and make it great again
Trump, or Jay Z – I am not sure who is more unlikable between those 2. Ugh. Also, if you are going to concede that black unemployment is indeed the lowest that it’s ever been, but then say something to the effect that it has nothing to do with Trump or his policies, it would be good to at least list a couple of other factors that could have contributed to this. Otherwise, it looks like you are saying that he’s right, but just don’t want to admit it. Better to cover your bases before a Trump supporter plays “Gotcha”. Personally, I haven’t liked a sitting president in what seems like ages.
Fuck Jay Z and his elephant skin shoes. Asshole!