Even though Jay Z didn’t directly diss Kim Kardashian on 4:44, she may be the source of a more direct hit in the album’s very first track. In “Kill Jay Z,” Jay Z takes shots at Kanye West, rapping:
I know people backstab you, I felt bad too
But this ‘Fuck everybody!’ attitude ain’t natural But you ain’t a saint, this ain’t kumbaye But you got hurt because you did cool by ‘Ye You gave him 20 million without blinkin’ Fuck was he thinkin’?
According to Page Six, Jay’s animosity comes from a series of rants that Kanye went on during his Saint Pablo Tour last year when Kanye spoke ill of Jay and his family. From his floating stage during an Inglewood, California show last October, Kanye told the sold-out audience: “Beyoncé, I was hurt. I went down seven years on behalf of your fake s - - t” and “Jay-Z. Call me bro, you still ain’t call me. I know you got killers, please don’t send them at my head.”
In another rant, this time at a concert in Seattle, Kanye explained he wasn’t on “Pop Style” because “of Hov. Because of some Tidal/Apple bullshit,” and also claimed “there will never be a Watch the Throne 2.” Kanye ended the rant by adding that “our kids ain’t never even played together.”
According to an unnamed source in Page Six, the entire fight is a result of Kanye “forcing [his wife] Kim Kardashian” on the Carters.
“Kanye is frustrated that his wife does not have a better relationship with Beyoncé. He wanted to put that pressure on Jay. It’s like, ‘We’re cool and we do business together, and now our wives should be friends?’” the source said.
But Hov did not take Kanye’s rant lightly at all. “It’s like, Jay believed in you and now you’ve alienated him to where he’s like fuck you,” the same Page Six source claimed.
The source went on to explain that the relationship between Kim and Bey is “not organic. It’s not real. Beyoncé is a Southern, God-fearing woman, despite what you may see when she’s entertaining. She may not have much in common with Kim.”
But the feud has now had bigger consequences than rants, bars, or hurt feelings. Just yesterday, a source close to Kanye confirmed that he’s cut ties with Tidal over a money issue: Kanye’s team claims Tidal owes the Chicago rapper more than $3 million dollars.
And while the whole feud could be a huge misunderstanding—after all, reports have come out in the past discrediting rumors that Kim Kardashian and Beyoncé disliked each other—it’s likely that there’s something to all of this talk. There have also been plenty of instances to suggest that Kim and Bey are not the best of friends.
There was their mutual refusal to speak to each other at the Made in America Festival back in 2012, despite reports that Kim was doing “whatever she can to get close to Beyoncé.” There’s also the time Jay Z and Beyoncé went on vacation in the Hamptons instead of attending KimYe’s wedding. And when Lemonade dropped last year, Kim initially didn’t show support for the album, instead posting a bunch of photos from a friend’s wedding. She would later IG a screenshot from the visual:
