JAY-Z Reconciles with Estranged Mentor Jaz-O
It isn’t “Ova” after all. Following many years of feuding through scathing diss tracks, JAY-Z and his one-time mentor Jaz-O made peace.
With No I.D. standing between them, the former collaborators posed for a photo backstage at Chicago’s United Center, where Hov was set to perform as part of his “4:44 Tour.”
Longtime Hov associate Emory “Vegas” Jones posted the pic on Instagram. “Tonight going to be a special night Chitown,” he wrote. “Few legends in the building.” No I.D. reposted the image, adding: “Legacy Legacy Legacy.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcWDEXDlN-2/
At one point, Jaz played a mentor role in Hov’s career. Nas used this as fuel for his Jigga diss, “Ether,” when he rapped, “Shawn Carter to JAY-Z? Damn, you on Jaz dick.” But through the years, their relationship soured and resulted in a series of disses.
On “What We Talkin’ About,” Hov appeared to confirm rumors that their feud began because Jaz wouldn’t sign a contract with Roc-A-Fella. “Jaz made some scraps,” he rapped. “He could’ve made more but he ain’t sign his contract.”
Even while dissing him, Hov credited Jaz with helping him get his musical start back when he was still dealing drugs. On Ludacris’ “I Do It for Hip Hop,” he rhymed: “Shout out to Grandmaster Flash and to Caz / And even Jaz bum-ass.” On “December 4th,” he claimed “nobody paid Jaz wack-ass.”
Jaz also addressed their feud on tracks like “Ova,” where he described his influence on Jigga. “Look at your name,” he rapped. “Same as the letters of your God / People put it together / Ain’t finished but you ova.”
But peace was in the air during JAY’s Chi-town concert. Jigga also paused the show to play Kanye West’s “Can’t Tell Me Nothing,” shouting out his Watch the Throne collaborator. The two have been feuding in recent years though they recently spoke about their mutual respect, according to Hov.
“I [talked to] Kanye the other day, just to tell him he’s my brother,” he said during a recent interview. “I love Kanye. I do. It’s a complicated relationship with us…Kanye came into this business on my label. So I’ve always been like his big brother. And we’re both entertainers. There’s always been a little underlying competition with your big brother. And we both love and respect each other’s art, too. So it’s like, we both — everyone wants to be the greatest in the world. And then there’s like a lot of other factors that play in it. But it’s gonna, we gonna always be good.”
Can’t Tell Me Nothing / Kanye West Shoutout / Chicago Shoutouts / Allure#444Tour @JAY_Z_Daily @TeamKanyeDaily pic.twitter.com/iJYUBVPyRl
— G Mookie (@_KingMook) December 6, 2017