Jay-Z and Nas have squashed their beef and now get to laugh about it over text messages. Despite the running joke that Jay isn’t completely over the feud and has been secretly trying to overshadow Nas’ album or song releases. The Blueprint rapper has once again proven there’s no bad blood between them.
On Wednesday (Dec. 14) the rap billionaire (born Shawn Carter) showcased his annual end of year playlist on Tidal. This year’s list featured music from his wife Beyoncé as well as songs from Kendrick Lamar, Ab-Soul, Drake and 21 Savage, Pusha T, SZA, DJ Khaled, Burna Boy and more. The 40-track playlist also included Nas’ King’s Disease 3 standout, Thun in which the Queens Bridge legend references their rivalry.
“No beef or rivals, they playing ‘Ether’ on TIDAL/Brothers can do anything when they decide to,” he raps on the track. “In a Range Rover, dissecting bars from ‘Takeover’/Sometimes I text Hova like, ‘N-gga, this ain’t over,’ laughing.”
Jay-Z and Nas clashed both on and off record in the late 90s and early 00s, which eventually led to both rappers releasing Takeover and Ether respectively. On The Blueprint’s album track Takeover, Jay-Z references sampling Nas’ classic song The World Is Yours on Reasonable Doubt’s Dead Presidents II.
‘So yeah I sampled your voice, you was usin’ it wrong / You made it a hot line, I made it a hot song,’ he raps.
Nas responded with several homophobic slurs on Ether, where he accused Jay of biting off The Notorious B.I.G.’s style. The beef was eventually squashed in 2005 when Jay-Z surprisingly brought Nas on stage at a New Jersey stop of his I Declare War tour. Since then, the two have gone on to collaborate on records such as “Black Republican,” “Success” and, most recently, DMX’s “Bath Salts” and DJ Khaled’s “Sorry Not Sorry.”
Last year April Jay-Z curated a special Tidal playlist dedicated to Nas just before the release of their collaboration with DJ Khaled. The 24-track playlist dubbed The Genesis was filled with his favorite Nas cuts including songs like “N.Y. State of Mind,” “The World Is Yours,” “Life’s A Bitch” and others.
What do you think of Jay-Z’s music taste? You can listen to the playlist here if you’re a Tidal subscriber.
