A reliable source with knowledge of the situation reached out to tell DX, “Roc Nation doesn’t give advances for tours as part of the business model.”
(The original article was published earlier on July 4, 2017 and can be found below.)
There has been no shortage of talking points to arise from JAY-Z’s 4:44 release last week, but at this point it’s safe to say that the most-discussed lyrics have been the ones about JAY’s former friend and collaborator Kanye West.
A new TMZ report suggests that some of the lyrics from album opener “Kill Jay Z” that describe how things went down between Yeezy and his old mentor have been misinterpreted — particularly with respect to the “$20 million without blinkin’.”
AD LOADING...
According to TMZ, “sources with direct knowledge of Jay and Kanye’s business relationship” claim that rather than this money being a handout, it was a Roc Nation advance for the costs of Ye’s extravagant Saint Pablo Tour, including the floating stage. Of course, the tour came to a close ahead of schedule as Kanye West was hospitalized for exhaustion and an apparent mental breakdown.
JAY makes no bones about coming after Kanye on his new album, rapping: “But you got hurt because you did cool by ‘Ye/ You gave him $20 million without blinkin’/ He gave you 20 minutes on stage, fuck was he thinkin’?/ ‘Fuck wrong with everybody?’ is what you sayin’/ But if everybody’s crazy, you’re the one that’s insane.”
The lyrics have been the cause of much speculation as to where it all went wrong between the two men. A second report from TMZ says that the feud really took off when Kanye called Jay out during an onstage rant toward the premature end of his Saint Pablo Tour, just days before he went into hospital.
AD LOADING...
There have also been reports that Kanye is splitting from TIDAL, and that JAY’s streaming service owes him money, although these issues have apparently been in the works since before the release of 4:44.
