In the latest casualty from the ongoing Apple Vs. Tidal feud—whose legal battle over streaming rights is the closest 2016 will get to a genuine hip-hop rivalry—Kanye West says that some “some Tidal/Apple bullshit” has killed any chance for a sequel to his 2011 collaborative album with Jay Z, Watch The Throne. West made the announcement during his nigh-customary mid-show airing of grievances on a Seattle tour date, stopping three times to enumerate the various kinds of shit that were vexing him.
“Some Tidal, some shit, some political shit, some shit about percentages on songs,” West said, first came between him and Jay Z around the release of Drake’s 2016 single “Pop Style.” That song had originally featured guest verses from both of them—or rather, one Kanye verse and two bars Jay Z threw on as a “surprise,” West says, like the rap equivalent of adding your name to a Christmas gift tag. But when Views was officially released as an Apple Music exclusive, both of their contributions had been wiped from that track, replaced by another Drake verse. During his lengthy explanation, West suggested this was due to Apple’s grudge against the Jay Z-owned Tidal service, a conflict he’s lamented before.
This Tidal Apple beef is fucking up the music game.
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) July 30, 2016
However, West also blamed it on Jay Z’s allegiance to Drake rival Meek Mill (“Out of respect for Meek Mill, he didn’t want to be on the track”) and “the politics and the bullshit,” as well as a more personal falling out between the two. In particular, West complained that their kids have never played together, and that Jay Z barely reached out after Kim Kardashian’s armed robbery. “Don’t call me after the robbery and say, ‘How you feelin?’ You wanna know how I’m feelin’? Come by the house,” West said. It was the kind of heartfelt, honest moment that can only be shared while atop a floating stage in front of thousands of strangers.
Concertgoers also noted the symbolic omission of Watch The Throne track “N***as In Paris”—a nod to the ongoing friction perhaps (or you know, maybe Kanye isn’t so hot on Paris right now, given the circumstances). Whatever the specific shit that led to this current shit, the point is, Kanye and Jay Z aren’t working together ever again. At least until this is all revealed to be a viral stunt for another Lemonade, where the two turn their own fake problems into genuine cash.