Jay-Z has been reflecting on his career a lot this year. One of the main vehicles for this is his JAŸ-Z In 8 docuseries with Rick Rubin on HBO, which sees the two discussing some of his biggest and deepest cuts and eras. According to Complex, episode six of the series features a surprising moment of praise for Kanye West, which is bittersweet for die-hards of both given their incredibly rocky dynamic today.
More specifically, Rubin was asking about the 2021 collab "Jail," which appeared on Donda by Ye. Rick said the Chicago rapper's extremist turns and controversial bigotries isolated him like a prison. "In some ways, he was removed from the community," he argued. "It was not by choice, because he was being himself."
Hov called Ye "one of the most brilliant creatives we're ever going to see." "No matter what, he's always... had this space for me and this reverence as his big brother," he added. "Obviously he does his things... But I know he hasn't lost that feeling."
The Roc Nation mogul also reportedly unpacked his "Jail" verse bar-for-bar, including "Told him, 'Stop all of that red cap, we going home.'" That reference to Ye's support of Donald Trump garnered new irony over the years, and the track as a whole is probably the last thing we'll hear them both on.
JAŸ-Z In 8, at press time, only has its first four of eight episodes available on HBO Max. When the sixth one lands, fans will be able to unpack the conversation and these remarks with their full context.
Kanye West & Jay-Z's Beef
Jay-Z dissed Kanye West during his Roots Picnic freestyle, so it's fair to say their dynamic is beyond repair in the present moment. Hov seemed to take aim at Ye's comments about his kids with Beyoncé.
However, months later, Ye seemed to show love to Jay-Z for his Yankee Stadium shows. But there's a good chance this was due to its art direction by Gabriel Moses rather than anything related to the Roc Nation MC.
Regardless of where they stand today after a decade of tensions, they made too much history together to fully ignore. Many fans would argue they made each other better, and dreams of reconciliation continue to make them hold out for another collaboration.
