Kanye West and Jay-Z Relationship Timeline: From Friends to Rivals
Jay-Z And Kanye West were formerly one of the most dynamic duos of hip-hop, collaborating behind the scenes and exchanging raows on the singles and their collaborative album, 2011 Look at the throne.
Since their peak, however, the two have apparently fallen – and their constant flow of topping collaborations has dried.
“He’s my brother. I love Kanye. I do it. It’s a complicated relationship with us,” said Jay The New York Times In 2017. “Kanye entered this company on my label. So I have always been like his big brother. And we are both artists. It has always been like a small competition underlying with your big brother. And we love and we also respect the art of the other. … And then there are like many other factors that play there. But it’s going to be good.”
In the years that followed this interview, West has more often made the headlines for its erratic behavior and controversial views that his music, lose many commercial offers In the wake of the anti-Semitic comments he shared on social networks in 2022. Although Jay-Z did not comment on his colleague’s buffoonemeries, it seems that the two are closer, West affirming in April 2025 that their main source of discord arises from his support for the president Donald Trump.
Continue to scroll for a look at the many tops and downs that Jay-Z and West have been confronted over the years:
2000
Jay-Z enlisted West, then a producer in the making, for his fifth studio album, The Dynasty: Roc La Familia. He marked the beginning of a fruitful and long artistic relationship, with West returning for the years 2001 The plan And produce successes such as “Izzo (Hova)” and “Takeover” (and contributing non -credited voices on “Never Change”). West then contributed to many Jay-Z albums, including the 2006 Kingdom come and 2009 Plan 3.
In 2002, West remembers playing Jay-Z his beats for the first time and showing him the songs that ultimately become “Heart of the City (Ain’t No Love)” and “Never Change” on The plan. “He listened to it like:” Yo, guy, you a moving guy “” ” He said to MTVrevealing that Jay-Z removed his hat when he really liked a beat. “All that Hov said is like, in stone. I will never forget any of these words. … It’s like the moment of truth for me here.”
2003
West produced “Lucifer” and “still” of the eighth album by Jay-Z, The black albumWhat Jay-Z said would be his last release before retirement. Retirement did not last, but The black album There remains one of its most respected LPs. West, meanwhile, published his first single solo as a rapper, “Through the Wire”.
2004
West released his first solo album, The dropout of the collegeAnd Jay-Z contributed a guest verse on the track “Never Let Me Down”. During the grammys of the following year, West won the Grammy for the best rap album (but lost album of the year).
2005
West made the headlines when he said on television live that the president of the time George W. Bush “Don’t care about blacks” during a Hurricane Katrina Telethon. Years later, Jay-Z said he had no problem with his friend’s comments.
“I agree 100% with the comments he made, because again … I felt like this was done in blacks,” he told the Associated Press in 2010. “As, everything you saw on the news was black with help signs and all this, and then you have this photo of the commander-in-chief, who are all about, who just fly. “If this had happened elsewhere in addition to New Orleans, the answer would be [have] been so slow?
2010
West released his fifth studio album, my Beautiful twisted black fantasy. Jay-Z appeared on two tracks, including the hit Smash “Monster” (who presented a large part of the world to a young rapper named Nicki Minaj). Jay-Z’s wife, BeyoncéAlso represented on a bonus song entitled “See Me Now”. The album won the best rap album in Grammys in 2012.
While many criticisms consider Mbdtf To be one of West’s best albums, he tweeted in 2025 that he hates and “came out of fear”.
2011
The duo released their first and only collaborative album, Look at the thronewhich included the successful singles “Otis” and “N **** s in Paris”. In the “Otis” video, they defined friendship goals while dancing together in front of the unique cover inspired by the American flag designed by the Great fashion Riccardo Tisci.
A few weeks after the album’s fall, Beyoncé announced her pregnancy (with Blue Ivy) on stage at the MTV Video Music Awards, and West was filmed smiling and giving Jay-Z playful slaps while they were looking at the public.
2012
The pair has teamed up with Big Sean For the song “Clique”, which appeared on West Was cruel Compilation album. The duo also finished the European leg of their Look at the throne Tour, where they interpreted “N **** s in Paris” several times in a row. They set the record in Paris, playing 11 times in a row.
2014
West contributed an invited verse to the official remix “Drunk in Love”, which appeared on the eponymous album of Beyoncé 2013. Later this year, however, weeks after their infamous elevator incident with Solange Knowles And reported marital problems, Jay-Z and Beyoncé jumped West’s wedding Kim Kardashian in Italy.
West later said that he was “injured” that they were not assisted. “I understand that they were going through certain things, but if it is family, you will not miss a marriage,” he said Charlamagne Tha God During a 2018 interview on The breakfast club. “I don’t use this interview to turn off negative things, but I have to tell my truth. You just start finding all the types of crazy things in your head, why” why? “”
2015
When Jay-Z founded his tidal streaming service, West was by his side during a press conference presenting the other founders-artists (including Beyoncé, Rihanna,, Madonna And many others) behind the application. Two years later, West left the application after saying that the tide owed him money for marketing efforts. Tidal, on the other hand, said that West had not delivered assets he had promised to the company.
2016
During the Sacramento stop of his Saint Pablo tourWest made a 15-minute rant in which he said he was “injured” Beyoncé and Jay-Z did not defend that he won a video of the year at VMA after interrupted Taylor Swift In 2009, to claim the “single ladies (put a ring) of Beyoncé”, deserved the best women’s video victory.
“I am sitting here to give you my truth even at the risk of my own life,” he said, in part. “Even at the risk of my own success, my own career. I’m sitting here to give you the truth. Jay-Z, call me, Bruh. You still don’t call me.”
2017
Jay-Z approached the West diatribe in an interview with The New York Timessaying that there was still a “true love” between them despite the tension. “In the long relationship, you know, I hope that when we are 89 years old, we look at these six months or anything and we laugh,” he said. “There will be complications in the relationship we have to pass. And the only way to go through is that we sit down and have a dialogue and say: “These are the things with which I am uncomfortable. These are the things that are unacceptable for me. That’s what I feel. I’m sure he feels that I also did things to him.
In a separate interview, the rapper “99 problems” addressed the words on the 4:44 True “Kill Jay Z” which referred to the West. “This is not even Kanye, it really is not the case,” he said during an interview on the “Rap radar” podcast. “His name is there, just because it’s just the truth of what happened. But the point is:” You were injured because this person was talking about you on a scene. “But what really hurt me, you can’t bring my children and my wife. We have spent more important problems.
Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” are faced with ups and downs while building their successful hip-hop empires. Running in similar industry circles since the 90s-when Diddy and Jay-Z have launched Bad Boy Records and Roc-a-Fella Records in New York-La Pair has trained a friendly rivalry while their individual musical careers have taken off. On […]
2021
The Twosome met for “Jail”, their first collaboration for years, which appeared on the 10th album of West, Hurt. The song won the best rap song trophy at the Grammys 2022.
2025
In a series of tweets deleted since, West has made offensive comments on Jay-Z and the twins of Beyoncé, Rumi and Sir. While he apologized later for his remarks, he said he felt that Jay-Z and Beyoncé should have done more for him during his split in Kardashian. “They could have used their cultural position so as not to just look at the Kardashians to make me pass,” he wrote. “S *** hurts … so both have because when I needed it, it was me.”
He also said that he and Jay-Z argued on his support for Trump, who was mentioned in the words of “prison”. “Why did Jay Z say” no red hat “in prison”, wrote West via X. “It disturbed me in my soul. We fought on this subject and he told me either to leave this line there or to remove my verse. I was carrying the red hat was the most marked example of me against” the program. “Do you think he was invited to say that?
Jay-Z did not respond to West’s comments.
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