Future likes to hold stacks of cash up to his ear like a phone. A lot of rappers do. This was a popular and seemingly harmless practice until Jay-Z addressed the craze on 4:44, not exactly calling for an end to the pose, but not giving it much credit either. "Y'all holdin' money to your ear," Jay raps on "The Story Of O.J." "There's a disconnect, we don't call that money over here."
After the line was heard around the world in June, Future was one of a few rappers (including Drake and Boosie) who got a bit defensive about the beloved pose. In fact, it caused such a stir in the hip-hop community that the line came up in Jay-Z's new interview with Rap Radar, and he took the opportunity to address the talk about it. "I didn’t even tell people to stop using the money phone. I didn’t say that," he attested. "I had to listen again like 'How is this being misinterpreted?' because I just said it ain’t money to us. It ain’t. That’s just an honest statement." He went on to clarify that he was pointing out that rappers should think bigger than social media posturing. "That can’t be the end-all," he said. "To get money and show it on the internet. That can’t be our goal, that’s some corny shit."
As Complex points out, it seems that Jay's explanation hasn't changed Future's stance on the subject. The Atlanta rapper shared a pair of cryptic tweets Friday night that appear to be a response to Jay's recent comments. "Same money u get we gettin too..." he wrote. "As long as they print it we gone get it."
It's worth nothing that the "money phone" line wasn't the only portion of Jay's 4:44 that may have bothered Future. "In the future, other n---as playin' football with your son," raps HOV on "Kill Jay-Z," a pretty clear reference to Future's complicated relationship with his and Ciara's child, who is now being raised partially by NFL star Russell Wilson.
Then again, Future's posts are vague enough that this could all be a misunderstanding. After all, Future was one of the rappers Jay-Z thanked on Twitter earlier this year, and the two collaborated as recently as last year on "I Got The Keys." Either way, don't expect the Hndrxx rapper to give up posting "money phone" selfies anytime soon.
