On May 30, JÄY-Z performed solo at the Roots Picnic festival for the first time in six years. Besides a stacked setlist of hits, which served as a precursor to his three-day residency at Yankee Stadium, JÄY-Z addressed multiple disses and rumors targeting him.
The first diss in the freestyle targeted Tory Lanez and his father, addressing the rumor that JÄY-Z was involved in sabotaging Lanez’s trial after shooting Megan Thee Stallion, due to Megan and JÄY-Z’s Roc Nation connection.
In a viral video, Lanez’s father yells out, “Roc Nation, you will crumble!” In the new diss by JÄY-Z, he states, “Your son on a federal jail line mumblin’ somethin’ about having too much in his drink/ You know how dumb that is?” This phone call was used during criminal Lanez's trial.
He then disses ex-business partner, Dame Dash, saying “Another one fumbled his, wonder how I get the blame?/N—s teeth is tumblin’ out their mouth and somehow I’m the one who done it, there’s a murder mystery game.”
Dash and JÄY-Z’s conflict has been ongoing for decades, from their fall-out after the breakup of Roc-A-Fella Records to other legal, success and business disputes The teeth line refers to a viral video of Dash’s teeth falling out of his mouth mid-rant.
JÄY-Z then addresses Kanye West, calling his kids the r-slur. “You ever heard of a wunderkind?/My children is some of them, have you n—s no shame?” He later says, “You're no maniac, watch how sane he act in my presence, n—s shrink,” a reference to West’s bipolar disorder, which is often used as an explanation for his behavior. Here, JÄY-Z suggests most of it as a front for the public.
JÄY-Z then addressed Nicki Minaj and Make America Great Again, “That lady back on the stuff, she sound like she in love with him/Her Ken/kin can't even pick they kids, enough of them/A rapper can't be my opp, I got MAGA republicans/Them shots came from the very top of the government, good luck with them/I'm governed by God, you tried to break the covenant.”
This shot directs drug abuse allegations toward Minaj and addresses her husband, Kenneth Petty, who is a registered sex offender. He is also saying that the rappers are the least of his problems, because MAGA or, seemingly, President Donald Trump are his real opposition, and suggests they’ll turn on Minaj.
JÄY-Z and Trump have feuded in the past, and Trump claimed Beyoncé received a payout for her Kamala Harris endorsement. During the live performance, he stutters during the freestyle, seemingly mocking Minaj.
JÄY-Z also addressed Drake, who recently dissed him on his latest album “ICEMAN.” He says, “Wrong chart, champ, you gotta look up again/N—s look up to Hov, I never looked up to them.”
Much of Drake's defense stems from his commercial success, which he also boldly flaunts. JÄY-Z is saying chart and sales talk is irrelevant to him. He’s in a different bracket of success than Drake, and Drake has cited himself as looking up to JÄY-Z.
He then says, “Them crackers got your publishin', gangster, go talk tough to them/Don't talk success to me, you n—s is workers/In perpetuities, how your contracts is worded.” Essentially, JÄY-Z* is telling him to stop tough-talking him and to tough-talk the people who own his masters, seemingly forever. Despite all of Drake’s success, allegedly, his contract has him trapped forever.
Drake’s contract has always been held against him in rap beefs. Back in 2012, Pusha T addressed this on “Exodus 23:1," saying, “You signed to one n— that signed to another n— that's signed to three n—s,” which Kendrick Lamar referenced on his “euphoria” diss track.
JÄY-Z ends the freestyle, seemingly with a warning, saying, “You don't know the show ain't even begin/I said you don't know the show ain't even begin.”
