Jay Z (Featuring Lil Wayne) - Hello Brooklyn 2.0 

Since the beginning of Lil Wayne’s career there’s always been talk about Jay Z. There was talk around the time of Tha Carter I about Weezy leaving Young Money/Cash Money and joining Def Jam, though Lil Wayne said he was doing better with his own shit on his own label and stayed there. He addresses his love for the label on the song My Girl. Since the beginning Wayne has shown respect towards Hov (as everyone else in the game has). In response the question ”Would you say your flow and delivery is inspired by Jay Z?” in an interview with AllHipHop he said simply, “Of course, hell yeah! All Day - Yes!”

The beef between the two of them started when Jay Z came out of retirement to release Kingdom Come. No doubt Jay Z was at the top of his game when he left, and was undoubtedly the best in the game. When explaining his reasons for coming out of retirement and going back to the mic, Jay said it was because “Hip Hop is dead” and he needed to revive it.

This is the beginning of Weezy’s beef with Jay, as he disagreed with that statement.

“I don’t like what he’s saying about how he had to come back because hip-hop’s dead and we need him. What the fuck do you mean? If anything it’s reborn, so he’s probably having a problem with that. You left on a good note, and all of the artists were saying, ‘Yo, this is Jay’s house. He’s the best.’ Now he comes back and still thinks it’s his house. But we fucked bitches in your bed already. It’s not your house anymore and I’m better than you.”

“I think I speak for everybody when I say it’s not dead as long as I’m still dropping albums.” 

At the time Lil Wayne had just begun calling himself The Best Rapper Alive (a statement which now seems hard to deny, and has been used so many times it’s become another nickname). Such a boast seemed rash coming from such a young player, and spurred on the beef between the two. From Lil Wayne’s view, it’s not that Jay Z had necessarily lost his game, but his reign had ended it was time for Lil Wayne to take the thrown.  

“I’m better than this game. We could be having this conversation about any other person in this game. [Jay Z] was who I was asked about at this time. Yall trying to build a case on me. But I tell you what. If you build a case against me and take me to trial, I will beat it.” 

As Weezy continues to dominate the industry, the game, and nearly everything else he aims at, the problem everyone had with Wayne seemed to diminish. It’s hard to tell a man he ain’t the best when he clearly is.

The official end of the beef between Jay Z and Lil Wayne came when Hov released his concept album “American Gangster” that had the track “Hello Brooklyn 2.0” featuring a verse with Wayne. 

-jpc