--- title: Jay Z Takes Jabs at Kanye West on What's Free description: A new Jay Z verse takes jabs at Kanye West on the new Meek Mill album "What's Free". canonical: https://time.com/5467798/jay-z-verse/ author: Ashley Hoffman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-11-30T14:10:12.000Z article:modified_time: 2024-01-24T11:24:35.000Z og:title: Jay Z Takes Jabs at Kanye West on Fiery New Rap Track og:description: "don’t Michael and Prince me and Ye" og:url: https://time.com/5467798/jay-z-verse/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt12d43afb9e151057/6989404cb21a9ce1d84ff95a/newjayzwhatsfreelyrics.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4432 og:image:height: 2493 og:image:alt: City of Hope Spirit Of Life Gala 2018 - Inside og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Jay Z Takes Jabs at Kanye West on Fiery New Rap Track twitter:description: "don’t Michael and Prince me and Ye" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt12d43afb9e151057/6989404cb21a9ce1d84ff95a/newjayzwhatsfreelyrics.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Jay-Z Takes Jabs at Kanye West With a Fiery New Rap Verse > Sponsored content. 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The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Updated: Jan 24, 2024 11:24 AM UTCPublished: Nov 30, 2018 2:10 PM UTC  Jay-Z speaks onstage during the City of Hope Spirit of Life Gala 2018 at Barker Hangar on October 11, 2018 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for City of Hope) Jay-Z speaks onstage during the City of Hope Spirit of Life Gala 2018 at Barker Hangar on October 11, 2018 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for City of Hope) Kevin Mazur—Getty Images for City of Hope by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Updated: Jan 24, 2024 11:24 AM UTCPublished: Nov 30, 2018 2:10 PM UTC Jay Z has made more of his feelings about Kanye West known on a new [Meek Mill](http://time.com/5256757/meek-mill-symbol-prison/) track. Jay Z [raps](http://time.com/5296843/drake-blackface-photo-pusha-t/) a number of lines on the new “What’s Free” track featuring Rick Ross Meek Mill’s Championships that appear to address Kanye West’s news-dominating headlines head on. There’s been a back-and-forth between the two artists for years that culminated when Jay Z disagreed with Kanye’s political stances. Here, Jay Z doubles down. Following an unwieldy meeting with President Donald Trump, West [vowed he would distance himself from politics](http://time.com/5439805/kanye-west-politics-twitter-trump/). If the “What’s Free” lyrics are any indication, Jay Z has plenty to say. --- > “” --- The rap mogul shared the message he wanted to send with the song in a tweet Monday afternoon. “The line clearly meant don’t pit me against my brothers no matter what our differences are (red hat) now go pick up Meek album. Drake and Meek on there together.” > [](https://twitter.com/S%5FC%5F/status/1068565544008384512) That, however, was not the end. Later in the song, he continued with more apparent allusions, though his target isn’t exactly clear to fans. --- > “” --- The speculation has been swift as fans are dissecting all the possible meanings. > [](https://twitter.com/youngscrap/status/1068382229192093696) > [](https://twitter.com/itsthereal/status/1068383928803880960) > [](https://twitter.com/EarlFresher/status/1068375954282688512) And not everyone is certain that Jay Z is taking aim at Kanye. > [](https://twitter.com/TomMurphyNews/status/1068378920897191936) > [](https://twitter.com/BSO/status/1068389773092343808) Hear the Jay Z lyrics to “What’s Free” below that begin roughly 3 minutes and 40 seconds in below. Warning: the track is profanity-laden. Feuds are an integral and time-honored part of rap that often drum up hype for new music. Meek Mill’s album dropped Friday, and it’s the rapper’s first since he was released from prison. His jailing ignited a #FreeMeekMill social media campaign, a number of high-profile endorsements, and elevated a dialogued about systemic racism in the criminal justice system. You can stream Meek’s new album now on all major streaming services, including YouTube, Apple Music and iTunes. 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