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Kanye West and Jay-Z are two of the most famous entertainers of all time, and both helped shape the sound of modern hip hop. I’m a huge fan of both artists, and I’ve been following their careers and relationship closely for years. They’ve been collaborators since the early 2000s but have had a complicated relationship with many ups and downs along the way.
They worked together on some of the most iconic records in rap, from their collaboration on Jay-Z’s seminal album, the Blueprint, to their joint album Watch the Throne. My favorite Kanye and Jay-Z collaborations have to be Diamonds from Sierra Leone (remix) and Guess Who’s Back with Scarface and Beanie Sigel.
They have a natural charisma together and constantly push each other to be better at their craft, which is why their relationship has had such an impact on pop culture. Here is a closer look at the relationship between Kanye West and Jay-Z, two of rap’s biggest icons.
Who Is Jay-Z?
Jay-Z is a rapper, record executive, and business mogul considered one of the most influential hip-hop artists of all time. Jay is also one of my favorite rappers of all time, and his catalog is unmatched, in my opinion. With classic hits like Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem) and Can’t Knock the Hustle, Jay-Z cemented himself as one of the leading voices in New York City in the 90s.
Born and raised in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, Jay-Z came from humble beginnings and was sucked into the street life after his father abandoned the family when he was young.
He leveraged his success as a rapper to build a massive business empire that earned him the distinction of becoming hip hop’s first billionaire. His fortune comes from his music catalog, entertainment company Roc Nation, streaming company Tidal, various brand deals and investments, fine art, real estate, and more.
Jay has released many albums that are considered classics today. But, perhaps his most iconic and highly acclaimed is his 2001 Blueprint. That album’s success was partially due to the masterful production from his protégé, Kanye West.
Who Is Kanye West?
Kanye is a rapper, music producer, and fashion designer considered one of the most transformative artists of the 20th Century. He’s an often-controversial figure who isn’t afraid to voice his opinions – even when they are unpopular or not thoroughly developed.
He’s shaped popular culture in ways few artists ever have due to his prolific output and passion for many crafts. Ye is another one of my favorite artists, and even if I don’t agree with all his choices and opinions, I still think he’s a musical genius.
Kanye grew up in Chicago with his mother, Donda, a Chicago State University professor. He eventually dropped out of college to pursue his dreams as a rapper and producer and started gaining a buzz by working with local artists like Common and G.L.C. He slowly began making a name for himself in the industry and got his first big break in 2000, when he started working with Roc-a-fella.
Since then, he has gone on to have a massively successful career, spanning two decades, and like his mentor Jay-Z, has entered the leagues of hip hop’s billionaire class. His money comes from his music catalog, his fashion brand Yeezus, his real estate portfolio, and his various other brand deals and business ventures.
Jay-Z Kanye West Relationship Timeline
This Can’t Be Life
The first official collaboration that Jay and Kanye did together was the track “This Can’t Be Life” with Beanie Sigel and Scarface. Kanye had been making a name for himself in the industry as a producer, and in 1998 he signed to a production-management company called Hip Hop Since 1978.
The company was founded by Gee Robinson and Kyambo “Hip Hop” Joshua, who also happened to be A&R’s at Roc-a-Fella. In 2000, they started passing around some of Kanye’s beats to the artists on the label, including Jay-Z himself.
Kanye landed his first placement with the intro track to Beanie Sigel’s album The Truth. Rocafella co-founder Dame Dash quickly noticed Kanye’s passion and work ethic, so he decided to introduce him to Jay.
Jay used one of Kanye’s beats for the soulful ballad, “This Can’t Be Life,” which also featured guest appearances from Beanie Sigel and Scarface from the Geto Boys.
On the track “Last Call,” the outro to Kanye’s debut album, The College Dropout, Kanye talks about this first encounter with Jay-Z. Jay told Kanye that he was a real soulful dude and rapped him the verse he wrote for This Can’t Be Life in the studio.
Kanye was slightly disappointed that the song was more introspective and not an instant hit, but he couldn’t tell Jay that. Even though Ye didn’t like the track, I love the song, and it’s an early example of what made Kanye’s production so unique. So, the song appeared on the Roc-a-fella compilation tape Roc La Familia and would be just the first in a long list of collaborations between the two rappers.
The Blueprint
Jay and Kanye would build a close creative bond during the recording sessions for his 2001 album The Blueprint. Kanye produced four tracks on the album, Takeover, Izzo (Hova), Heart of the City (Ain’t No Love), and Never Change. The album received near-universal acclaim from fans and critics who noted Kanye’s unique production techniques.
During that era, Ye mastered the method known as chipmunk soul, which was characterized by sped-up soul samples with vocals pitched up to the register of a chipmunk. The sound proved to be the perfect backdrop for Jay-Z coldblooded yet heartfelt rhymes, which made the Blueprint an instant classic. The Blueprint is my favorite Jay-Z album, and in my opinion, the best tracks are the songs Kanye produced.
The Blueprint 2
Kanye continued to refine the sound he created with Jay-Z and was featured prominently on his next album, The Blueprint 2: The Gift and the Curse. Kanye produced the lead single off the album, ’03 Bonnie and Clyde, Hov’s first collaboration with his now-wife Beyoncé.
To make the beat, he flipped an old 2pac sample from Me and My Girlfriend, a track off the rapper’s posthumous album: The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory. It was an immediate hit and became Jay-Z’s second top ten single, reaching number four on Billboard.
Kanye also has a production credit on the song A-Dream featuring Faith Evans and Notorious B.I.G., and Jay even let him spit a verse on “The Bounce.” At the time, Jay still saw Kanye as a producer first and didn’t have much faith in his rap career. However, he saw his creativity and passion and decided to let him have his moment.
The Black Album
In 2002, Kanye produced the song “Guess Who’s Back” by Scarface, featuring Jay-Z and Beanie Sigel. Kanye also provided uncredited vocals on the chorus. That’s one of my personal favorite Jay and Kanye collaborations because it has a timeless quality and demonstrates what made Kanye’s early production so exciting and multilayered.
The following year, Kanye contributed production to Jay-Z’s eighth album, the Black Album, producing the songs Encore and Lucifer. Jay even shouts out Kanye by saying, “Kanyeezy, you did it again. You a genius,” in the intro to Lucifer. This is one of my all-time favorite Jay-Z songs, due in part to the iconic beat made by Kanye.
The College Dropout
The Black Album was supposed to be Jay’s retirement album, and Kanye was more than ready to become the next superstar on Rocafella. The label wasn’t sure how his album would perform, as they were used to signing street-oriented artists like Jay, State Property, and Memphis Bleek.
But they still greenlit Kanye’s debut album, The College Dropout, which dropped in 2004 to universal acclaim. Jay was featured on the song “Never Let Me Down,” a moment that felt like he was handing the reigns over to his former protégé.
Post-Rocafella
Not long after The College Dropout was released, Def Jam acquired Roc-a-fella after Jay and Dame Dash had disagreements over the label’s direction. Kanye decided to stand with Jay over Dame and Kareem “Biggs” Burke, further solidifying their relationship. They would continue to collaborate frequently, and Jay appeared on the Diamonds of Sierra Leone Remix from Kanye’s 2005 album Late Registration.
Kanye also worked on Jay-Z’s comeback album Kingdom Come in 2006, producing the song “Do You Want to Ride” featuring John Legend. By this point, Kanye was already one of the leading voices in rap, but now his idol was returning to the game to reclaim his position.
Graduation
Kanye proved his dominance in rap by going head to head with 50 Cent in a battle to see which would sell the most in the first week, Ye’s album Graduation or 50’s Curtis. Kanye outsold 50 by over 250,000 copies, proving that the sound of hip hop was moving in a new direction.
Jay-Z did not appear on Graduation, but the album did feature the track “Big Brother,” where Ye reflects on his relationship with the man who brought him into the game. The song was a tribute but did hint that there was a bit of sibling rivalry between the two superstars.
Ye accused Jay of getting a Coldplay feature right after he did and said that Jay made him pay for two tickets to his Fade to Black show at Madison Square Garden. Jay later confirmed this was true, but Kanye had left out the critical detail that he had already received multiple free tickets to the show.
The Blueprint 3 & My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Despite possible tensions behind the scenes, Jay and Kanye continued to collaborate frequently. They worked together on the track “Swagger Like Us” with T.I., and Lil Wayne and Kanye would take a significant role in the production of the Blueprint III. At that time, Jay was busy building his business empire and allowed Kanye to take a more hands-on part in the project’s direction.
Jay returned the favor by appearing on multiple tracks on Kanye’s seminal album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, including “Monster,” “So Appalled,” and the “Power (Remix).” The album was considered an instant classic, and many, including myself, believe it is Kanye’s best work.
Watch the Throne
By 2011, both rappers were at the height of their careers. Kanye had made himself into the trendsetting superstar and creative genius at the pinnacle of rap. Jay had built a massive fortune and married one of the most celebrated pop stars of all time, Beyonce, making him part of one of music’s most prominent power couples. So, a collaborative album only made sense.
Watch the Throne was released in August 2011 and featured seven supporting singles, including the top five hit N***** in Paris. The album received praise from fans and critics and showed that the two rappers could go head to head and deliver on a joint album. Watch the Throne is another one of my favorite Jay and Kanye collaborations because it solidified a moment in time when both rappers were on an equal footing in music and celebrity culture and were able to push each other to continue to innovate.
Falling Out
Jay and Kanye would appear on the Big Sean track “Clique” in 2012. But after that, it would be many years before fans heard the two rappers together on the same song. There were already reports of tension behind the scenes. But the rumors of a falling out peaked when Jay and Beyoncé were conspicuously absent from Kanye’s 2014 wedding to Kim Kardashian.
According to Hollywood gossip, Beyoncé didn’t want to be associated with the Kardashian Empire and wasn’t a fan of the media circus that followed the couple everywhere they went. Jay also later revealed that they were having marital problems at the time due to his infidelity, and he couldn’t risk his marriage.
Whatever the reasoning, Kanye clearly took it personally. He kept it bottled up for several years. But eventually, it all came out in 2016 while he was touring in support of his Life of Pablo album. During a series of on-stage rants, Kanye accused Jay-Z of having “shooters” that were after Ye and accused Beyoncé of being involved in some shady business at the MTV VMA’s.
He also admitted that he was hurt because their kids had never played together and that Jay hadn’t visited him and Kim after she was robbed at gunpoint in Paris.
He canceled the tour before it ended and had to be hospitalized at UCLA Medical Center for psychosis brought on by sleep deprivation and extreme dehydration. Kanye also revealed that during this time, he was diagnosed as bipolar. The public shade hurt and angered Jay and Beyoncé, who are famously private people despite their massive celebrity status.
Jay later addressed the situation on the track Kill Jay-Z, where he raps, “You gave him $20 million without blinking/He gave you 20 minutes on stage, f**** was he thinking”.
Not long after that, Kanye announced that he was parting ways with Tidal, Jay-Z’s streaming company, after claiming they owed him more than $3 million. A few months later, Jay did an interview with hip hop journalist Eliot Wilson, where he talked about the relationship with Ye, claiming that he felt hurt by Kanye’s comments, especially about his wife and kids. But there was still space for them to confront it and mend their relationship.
After the interview, Jay and Kanye reportedly had a conversation and hashed things out. Jay expressed love for Kanye in an interview with the New York Times Style Magazine and claimed their relationship was complicated, but things were good. He later called Kanye his brother on an episode of My Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman.
The two moguls were later spotted together at Sean P. Diddy’s 50th Birthday Party in December 2019, proving publicly that the feud was over. Jay even appeared on the track “Jail” from Kanye’s 2021 album Donda, which is one of my favorite songs on the album.
So, while Jay and Kanye may not be as close as they were when they were working on the Blueprint, it seems they’re still on good terms. It’s uncertain if fans will ever get to hear a Watch the Throne 2, but it seems like anything is possible.
Jay Z and Kanye West Relationship: FAQs
Answer: Kanye and Jay-Z are hip hop’s first two billionaires, and it’s not entirely clear who is actually wealthier. In 2021, a Bloomberg Report put Kanye’s net worth at a staggering $6.6 billion, making him the richest black person in America. But this report was later disputed by Forbes, who claimed this figure was based on speculative sales numbers of his Yeezy brand, and his true net worth was around $1.8 billion, which would still put him above Jay-Z.
But Jay did earn more in 2021 after selling his streaming company Tidal to Jack Dorsey and half of his champagne Armand de Brignac to LVMH, earning him $470 million for the year, compared to Kanye’s $250 million.
Answer: The rift between Kanye and Jay-Z began after Jay failed to appear at his wedding to Kim Kardashian in 2014. Kanye had wanted Jay to be his best man, but due to his marital conflict with Beyoncé at the time, Jay didn’t even attend. After that, there was tension between the two, which reached a boiling point when Kanye addressed the situation during an on-stage rant on his Life of Pablo tour.
Answer: Jay and Kanye have always had a relationship that is more like siblings than BFFs. Kanye is much more ostentatious and emotional than Jay, who is famously methodical and reserved. As a result, their personalities have often clashed. Yet, they share a bond as two of the richest, most iconic superstars of their generation and have made classic records together.
So while they may not always be the best of friends, they have frequently referred to each other as brothers and will always have a close relationship, even if they don’t always get along.