A History Of Jay Z & Kanye West Trying To Outshine Each Other

Like, really good friends. However, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a rivalry between the two. And we saw another example of said rivalry earlier today.

This morning, Kanye West announced his Yeezus tour, which will feature fellow rap superstar Kendrick Lamar. Not even a half hour later, Jay Z announced the US dates for his upcoming tour, in support of his Magna Carta…Holy Grail album, which dropped in July.

If you think that this was a coincidence, you haven’t been paying attention, folks. These two do things like this all the time.

Scroll down to see a brief history of Jay Z and Kanye West trying to outshine each other.

Jay Z bodies Kanye West on his own ish

The first single from Kanye West’s Late Registration album was “Diamonds From Sierra Leon.”  And that song kinda bricked, despite the nifty video. The single only made it to 43 on the Billboard hot 100 charts. The only thing that saved Late Registration from certain failure was “Gold Digger” which was huge. Oh, and there was also the “Diamonds From Sierra Leon (Remix)” that featured a recently retired Jay Z coming back from the dead and spitting one of the verses of the year. (Jay would also black on Young Jeezy’s “Go Crazy (Remix)” that year.)

Jay Z does a song with Chris Martin after Kanye West does a song with Chris Martin

Jay Z and Kanye West both have songs with Coldplay frontman Chris Martin. Jay’s song with Chris, “Beach Chair,” came first, dropping on Hov’s Kingdom Come album in 2006, while Kanye’s collabo, “Homecoming,” was on Graduation, which dropped in 2007.

It’s easy to understand why you would think Jay recorded his song first, but this isn’t true. According to Kanye’s “Big Brother: “I told Jay I did a song with Coldplay, next thing I know he got a song with Coldplay.”

Jay Z kills autotune, after Kanye West drops 808 and Heartbreaks, an album full of autotone

Seven months after Kanye West released an emotional  album full of autotune singing, Jay Z released “D.O.A. (Death of Autotune),” a song blasting the use of the vocal method . The funny thing is both Jay and Kanye try to downplay any kind of tension: In the song’s second verse Jay name checks Kanye, and he even has his voice appear on the record.

Kanye West closes out Coachella a year after Jay does it

In 2010, Jay Z made history by becoming the first rapper to close Coachella. So who was the closer next year? Kanye West, of course. Who had the better set? It’s hard to say. Jay had the guest appearances (he brought out Beyonce!) while Kanye was more of the showman. (His set had ballerinas!)

Kanye comes at JT’s neck

In 2011, you didn’t see a pic of Jay without seeing Kanye West right next to him. In 2013 Kanye was replaced by Justin Timberlake. Jay Z appeared on JT’s smash “Suit and Tie,” a song they performed a number of times throughout the year. We’re pretty sure Kanye was feeling some kind of way, because he blasted JT a number of times on stage earlier this year, saying: “I got love for Hov, but I ain’t fucking with that ‘Suit & Tie,””I got love for Hov, but I ain’t fucking with that ‘Suit & Tie.”

Jay Z drops “Open Letter,” then Kanye releases a new Pusha song

On April 11, 2013, the only thing the Internet was talking about was Jay Z’s just-released “Open Letter.” Kanye tried to put a stop to that. In the middle of that day, Kanye West sent out a Tweet about him and Pusha bringing hip-hop back. Then, sometime later, they released “Numbers by the Board,” which got a good amount of attention, just not that Jay Z kinda love.

Jay announces new album right around the time Kanye releases his Yeezusalbum

Kanye West tried so hard, man. (Like, he had a worldwide premiere of his “New Slaves” single.) And then, boom, on the week his album is set to drop, Jay announces his new album, overshadowing the release of Yeezus.

Kanye West tweets about movies the day Jay’s album drops

On July 4th, when Jay’s Magna Carta…Holy Grail album hit the Net, Kanye West also joined in on the Twitter fun. He didn’t tweet about the album, however, He tweeted about a movie, Pacific Rim, which was super random for two reasons: One, he never tweets about movies, and two, that movie kinda stunk. 

Let’s get this out of the way first: Jay Z and Kanye West are good friends.

Like, really good friends. However, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a rivalry between the two. And we saw another example of said rivalry earlier today.

This morning, Kanye West announced his Yeezus tour, which will feature fellow rap superstar Kendrick Lamar. Not even a half hour later, Jay Z announced the US dates for his upcoming tour, in support of his Magna Carta…Holy Grail album, which dropped in July.

If you think that this was a coincidence, you haven’t been paying attention, folks. These two do things like this all the time.

Scroll down to see a brief history of Jay Z and Kanye West trying to outshine each other.

Jay Z bodies Kanye West on his own ish

The first single from Kanye West’s Late Registration album was “Diamonds From Sierra Leon.”  And that song kinda bricked, despite the nifty video. The single only made it to 43 on the Billboard hot 100 charts. The only thing that saved Late Registration from certain failure was “Gold Digger” which was huge. Oh, and there was also the “Diamonds From Sierra Leon (Remix)” that featured a recently retired Jay Z coming back from the dead and spitting one of the verses of the year. (Jay would also black on Young Jeezy’s “Go Crazy (Remix)” that year.)

Jay Z does a song with Chris Martin after Kanye West does a song with Chris Martin

Jay Z and Kanye West both have songs with Coldplay frontman Chris Martin. Jay’s song with Chris, “Beach Chair,” came first, dropping on Hov’s Kingdom Come album in 2006, while Kanye’s collabo, “Homecoming,” was on Graduation, which dropped in 2007.

It’s easy to understand why you would think Jay recorded his song first, but this isn’t true. According to Kanye’s “Big Brother: “I told Jay I did a song with Coldplay, next thing I know he got a song with Coldplay.”

Jay Z kills autotune, after Kanye West drops 808 and Heartbreaks, an album full of autotone

Seven months after Kanye West released an emotional  album full of autotune singing, Jay Z released “D.O.A. (Death of Autotune),” a song blasting the use of the vocal method . The funny thing is both Jay and Kanye try to downplay any kind of tension: In the song’s second verse Jay name checks Kanye, and he even has his voice appear on the record.

Kanye West closes out Coachella a year after Jay does it

In 2010, Jay Z made history by becoming the first rapper to close Coachella. So who was the closer next year? Kanye West, of course. Who had the better set? It’s hard to say. Jay had the guest appearances (he brought out Beyonce!) while Kanye was more of the showman. (His set had ballerinas!)

Kanye comes at JT’s neck

In 2011, you didn’t see a pic of Jay without seeing Kanye West right next to him. In 2013 Kanye was replaced by Justin Timberlake. Jay Z appeared on JT’s smash “Suit and Tie,” a song they performed a number of times throughout the year. We’re pretty sure Kanye was feeling some kind of way, because he blasted JT a number of times on stage earlier this year, saying: “I got love for Hov, but I ain’t fucking with that ‘Suit & Tie,””I got love for Hov, but I ain’t fucking with that ‘Suit & Tie.”

Jay Z drops “Open Letter,” then Kanye releases a new Pusha song

On April 11, 2013, the only thing the Internet was talking about was Jay Z’s just-released “Open Letter.” Kanye tried to put a stop to that. In the middle of that day, Kanye West sent out a Tweet about him and Pusha bringing hip-hop back. Then, sometime later, they released “Numbers by the Board,” which got a good amount of attention, just not that Jay Z kinda love.Jay announces new album right around the time Kanye releases his Yeezusalbum

Kanye West tried so hard, man. (Like, he had a worldwide premiere of his “New Slaves” single.) And then, boom, on the week his album is set to drop, Jay announces his new album, overshadowing the release of Yeezus.

Kanye West tweets about movies the day Jay’s album drops

On July 4th, when Jay’s Magna Carta…Holy Grail album hit the Net, Kanye West also joined in on the Twitter fun. He didn’t tweet about the album, however, He tweeted about a movie, Pacific Rim, which was super random for two reasons: One, he never tweets about movies, and two, that movie kinda stunk.

| Global Grind

U.S. Still Obsesses Over Beyoncé-Jay Z Cuba Trip

Photo: Ramon Espinosa/AP

While we lie awake most nights worrying about the state of Beyoncé and Jay Z's marriage, after it was reported
that their controversial April 2013 trip to Cuba was "fully licensed by
the United States Treasury Department" we accepted that they didn't
violate U.S. sanctions. However, it seems the U.S. government has spent
the last year and four months ruminating about its brief encounter with
America's royal couple. On Wednesday the Treasury Department's Office of
Inspector General issued a 9-page report confirming
that Bey and Jay had a license to visit the country and didn't abuse
it. "Based on our review of available documentation and applicable
regulations and guidance, we found no indication that U.S. sanctions
were violated, and we concluded that the Office of Foreign Assets
Control’s decision not to pursue a formal investigation was reasonable,"
the report said. The Treasury Department is looking so crazy right now
that it may as well be gyrating around Jay Z in a leotard.

 -- NYMag

Beyonce Is 'Done' & Preparing to Divorce Jay Z

by Jill Baughman


Well, this could be even more tabloid bull shit, on top of everything we have already read and seen, but this is coming from Us Weekly, which is a rather reputable source as far as sources go. And it's their cover story! They claim that Beyonce is "done" and is preparing to divorce Jay Z. Is it really the beginning of the end for this power couple? Sources to Us revealed that Beyonce, after her On the Run tour, has already been making preparations
to file for divorce. Pretty vague, but still, if official paperwork
really is getting ready to be filed, looks like we can expect an
announcement when the tour is over.

Apparently the 32-year-old mother of Blue Ivy has "a
plan of action in place" whenever she decides to pull the plug on her
marriage. One source says "she is done" after their last shows in Paris,
France.

Who would have thought that all of this would have started because of an elevator brawl between Solange and Jay Z? The fight took place at the Standard Hotel on May 5 after the Met Ball. Why else would she have gotten that mad
at her brother-in-law? It was the elevator brawl seen around the world,
and it seemed like the ignition that sparked months and months of
rumors afterward.

It's been reported that they stayed in separate places during their
tour. Another blabbermouth blabbed that Beyonce looked at apartments
without Jay Z and checked out a $21.5 million penthouse in Chelsea, NYC.

More from The Stir: Jay Z & Beyonce Getting Divorced? 7 Signs That Point to a Split

Bey and Jay have also remained relatively tight-lipped on the subject. Beyonce can put up as many happy photos of her family that she wants, but it won't stop the presses from speculating that all isn't right in paradise.

“She’ll file for divorce in New York,” an insider told Us Weekly.

Lawyers are already involved." The couple have created the divorce announcement that they will send to the Associated Press.

Their On the Run tour ends September 13 in Paris.
Think that means all this speculation will stop once the couple return
to the States? From all the conflicting reports, it's difficult to
figure out the truth, but as the saying goes, when there's smoke ...

Let's just hope, if there will indeed be a divorce come September and
they are forced to sort through their billions and billions of dollars
upon their separation (their divorce lawyers are probably salivating),
they keep the best for Blue Ivy in mind and don't get involved in a
messy custody battle.

Do you think Beyonce will file for divorce once the On the Run tour is over?

 | The Stir

Beyonce & Jay-Z Hit the Go-Kart Track With Blue Ivy: See the Photos

Amid even more split rumors, Bey posts happy family photos to her website.

What breakup?


Yes, there are more split rumors -- most notably the latest cover of Us Weekly -- but Beyoncé took to her website
Friday (Aug. 15) to post a handful of adorable family photos, showing
Bey hitting the go-kart track with daughter Blue Ivy and supposedly
estranged husband Jay-Z for a friend's birthday party in Torrance, Calif.


While there are quite a few cheeky photos of Beyoncé mugging for the
camera in her racing best, the most prominent pic on her site shows Jay
walking hand-in-hand with Blue (cue the awwwwwws). Head to Beyonce.com for all the pics, or check out the highlights below:

 | Billboard

Beyonce And Jay-Z’s Marriage Is Falling Apart: Report

Beyonce and Jay-Z’s marriage is
said to be falling apart, according to the latest reports surrounding
the superstar couple. It all began when the couple went to a Met Gala
afterparty and Beyonce’s sister Solange Knowles attacked Jay-Z in an elevator.


A source close to the couple insists that the reports of their
marriage being in trouble are true and things between Bey and Jay are
more business-like than anything else. One friend said, “Knowing them
as I do, obviously there’s a little something to certain reports. When
your man or your woman isn’t getting it done for you, and I’m talking
emotionally, not necessarily sexually…they keep things quiet.”


Recent rumors surrounding the couple said that they were planning on
splitting up right after they got done with their “On The Run” tour. It
was said that they were already knee-deep in business dealings because
of the joint venture that they had to wait to make their split official.


Another source revealed that their business relationship was way more
important to them than the state of their marriage. The source said,
“There’s still something there, even though it’s not going to last.
Business is always part of the equation. They know they’re the king and
queen of hip-hop – and really, all of music. Neither wants to lose
that. They are solid, solid business people who know what they’re
doing.”


While undergoing marriage counseling on the tour, Jay has been busy
on his cell phone. The source added, “His phone’s constantly ringing.
Jay’s trying to make deal after deal.”

 | earsucker

Beyoncé Saw a Money Manager, Which Simply Must Mean Divorce

Now Beyoncé can’t even check on her stock portfolio in peace.

Between releasing the “Flawless remix” with Nicki Minaj, Instagraming insect-inspired necklaces and ignoring alleged mistresses on YouTube, the Houston-raised pop star met with a financial planner and you know what that means! It's further proof that Jayoncé Is Over. (Or Beyoncé could just be making sure that her money is where it should be by signing all of her checks personally, likeOprah told her to do — seems like solid billionaire advice, at least from this thousandaire's perspective.)

In her latest song, while referencing the spectacular elevator fight between Solange and Jay, Beyoncé mentioned that she and her husband’s net worth is nearing a new dimension confirmed.

"Combined they are very rapidly approaching the billion dollar mark," Zack Greenburg, Senior Editor at Forbes and also author of the book Empire State of Mind: How Jay Z went From Street Corner to Corner Office, tells E! News.

Isn't that reason enough to meet with your money manager?

This has been your daily update on the Jayoncé split rumors.

Image via Beyoncé/Instagram.

Jay Z & Beyonce Still Together ... Not Just For The Cameras, But For Family

Jay Z and Beyonce secretly attended a private event last week ... and it's significant because it's the most authentic evidence so far that they're still very much a couple.

Jay's mom, Gloria Carter, threw a shindig to celebrate the opening of her new restaurant, Diamondz N Da Ruff in Newark.

Jay Z and Beyonce showed up at 7 PM last Saturday for the ribbon cutting and champagne toast and stayed 15 minutes.  Our spies say Beyonce and Gloria hugged and laughed.

Here's the thing. There were no photogs at the event. We got this pic just by chance. So it seems there was no grandstanding on Bey's or Jay's part to look like a happy couple.

The plot thickens.

| TMZ.com

Beyoncé & Jay Z SLAAAAY LA With Their ‘On The Run’ Tour

At long last, I finally got to experience Beyoncé and Jay Z‘s On The Run Tourin person last night and I can tell you right now, I was murdered right there in the Rose Bowl. I knew the show would be great but LORDE, I was not expecting it to be so big and so epic. Because I previously sprung for VIP tickets to seeBeyoncé in concert before, I know that the ONLY way to see Bey live is up close and personal. I know I shouldn’t have done it but I sprung for the VIP tix next to the stage for the show last night and I LIVED MY LIFE like nobody’s biz. I took about a million photos and a few videos … some that you can see below.

I like Jay Z, he is an amazing performer, but I was only in the house last night for Beyoncé. It was very nice of her to come over and say hey to me (and the rest of the folks in the pit) a few times, something I appreciated very much. She put on a killer performance all night long. Jay swagged, Bey slayed … it was one of those kind of nights. Honestly, I spent much more time watching the show this time, rather than snapping photos and video. I did manage to film Beyoncé‘s entire performance of Drunk In Love so that I could share it with all y’all.

I really had the best time. I’m so glad I was able to see this show in person. There are few artists in the world today that are absolutely MUST SEE artists …Beyoncé and Jay Z are two of those artists. Ugh. SO GOOD.An unexpected bonus of the night was getting to meet PITNB reader Laurenbefore the show got underway: | Pink is the New Blog

Jay-Z And Beyonce Renting A Hamptons Mansion ... For $400,000 Per Month!

 

Jay-Z and Beyonce are reportedly renting this stunning 31,000-square-foot home in Bridgehampton for $400,000 ... just for the month of August!

The 11-acre property on Halsey Lane is known as the Sandcastle, and it is currently on the market for $43.5 million. The house has 12 bedrooms and 12 bathrooms, and in addition to a 60-foot heated pool with an underwater stereo system and a tennis court, the estate boats amenities including a two-lane bowling alley, a skateboard half-pipe, a rock-climbing wall, a full bar and a recording studio.

Of course, if that's not enough for you, there's also a full gym with a combination squash, racquetball and basketball court with moving walls and retractable hoop. The master suite is 2,800 square feet, and the guest house is a spacious two-bedroom apartment overlooking the pool and hot tub.

Fun fact: The Jonas Brothers were rumored to have been interested in the Sandcastle but settled on another Hamptons rental instead.

 

Seems a bit excessive!

via x17online.com

 

Beyonce's Hospital Denies Report Singer Rented Entire Maternity Floor For $1.3 Million

Now that Beyonce and Jay-Z's baby girl Blue Ivy Carter has arrived, Lenox Hill Hospital in New York is clearing the air about "inaccurate media reports regarding the presence of the Carter family at the hospital."
In a statement, the hospital writes:

"Lenox Hill Hospital and its staff were delighted to welcome the Carter family for the birth of their firstborn on Saturday evening, but we are troubled by the misinformation being circulated in some news media reports. The suggestion that the couple paid $1.3 million to rent an entire maternity floor is simply not true. The family is housed in an executive suite at the hospital and is being billed the standard rate for those accommodations. Our executive suites are available for any patient, including the food service and amenities provided to the Carter family."

Various online reports claimed hospital workers placed tape over security cameras and also that employees working in the maternity ward were required to turn over cell phones when they clocked in.
The statement went on to say:

"The family does have its own security detail on site. However, the hospital has been and continues to be in control of managing all security at the facility. We have made every effort to ensure minimal disruption to other families experiencing the births of their own children over the past three days. No security plan that we or the Carters' security team put in place would have prevented or delayed families from gaining access to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), and to date, no families have complained to the hospital about being denied access to the NICU."

Jay-Z and Beyonce released a statement on Monday saying baby Blue Ivy "was delivered naturally at a healthy 7 lbs and it was the best experience of both of our lives. Her birth was emotional and extremely peaceful, we are in heaven. We are thankful to everyone for all your prayers, well wishes, love and support."

via x17online.com

OSTENTATIOUS DISPLAY OF NOTHINGNESS!

Is Jay-Z Trying to Profit From Occupy Wall Street?

He's got 99 problems, and now "the 99%" might be another one. Rapper Jay-Z is plastering Occupy Wall Street's message onto a new line of T-shirts, to be released Friday under his Rocawear clothing label.

via gawker.com

Photos of Jay-Z sporting one of the shirts while he was backstage at one of his concerts with hip hop magnate Russell Simmons earlier this week lit up the Twittersphere. Simmons has been a fervent supporter of the Occupy movement, and tweeted that Jay-Z's wardrobe choice "took #OccupyWallStreet to a whole new level."

But here's the thing: Rocawear isn't going to share its wealth. A Rocawear spokesperson sent us a statement confirming there's no plan to distribute any of the profits, which will surely pour in from shirt sales, to Occupy Wall Street:

The 'Occupy All Streets' T shirt was created in support of the 'Occupy Wall Street' movement. Rocawear strongly encourages all forms of constructive expression, whether it be artistic, political or social. 'Occupy All Streets' is our way of reminding people that there is change to be made everywhere, not just on Wall Street. At this time we have not made an official commitment to monetarily support the movement.

With Rocawear set to keep proceeds, New York's favorite native son is poised to cash in on his apparent support of a movement that rails against exactly that sort of thing. The irony! But he wouldn't be the first.

A couple of weeks ago, we told you about an online site ripping off the Occupy Wall Street signs created by New York artist Jason Shelowitz and copywriter @blulaces, which they intended to use to help create a cohesive message for protesters. Instead, the store apparently lifted their work and slapped it on mugs and T-shirts.

The "Occupy All Streets" motto apparently first appeared at a Slutwalk protest in Berlin. Independent of that, Shelowitz and @blulaces also designed signs with the "Occupy All Streets" motto. Coincidence?

Republished with permission from BusinessInsider.com. Authored by Karlee Weinmann. Photo via Rocawear.

via gawker.com

Jay Z Cheating On Wife?

Jay-Z was recently the subject of a blind item that may put him in a serious bind with his wife. Why? Because the item, which was published on a blog run by an entertainment lawyer with serious industry connects, suggests that he has been carrying on an affair… for ten years!!!
Here’s what was said:

This married A list singer/rapper extraordinaire may want to be very careful right now. There is a French model he has been with for the past ten years and as they approach that first decade mark, she wants much much more out of their partnership. If our singer says no, the fireworks will be loud and spectacular.

Do you believe it????

via bossip.com