MTV Reports
Jay-Z performed in Chicago on Tuesday night to promote his new album, The Blueprint 3, and delved into a new freestyle praising native son Kanye West while also firing off a lyrical salvo at friend-turned-foe R. Kelly. Jay then reminded fans of his ties to Chi greats like President Obama and talk-show host Oprah Winfrey before comparing himself to Bulls legend Michael Jordan.
"The blueprint that 'Ye followed/ Too hard a pill for R. Kelly to swallow," Jay rapped. "But I helped your other man/ Now the whole world gotta listen to Chicago/ Obama, O. Winfrey, ask them about me/ They'll tell you the boy's windy/ That boy Hov so cold/ That when you come to my shows, it's like it just snowed 10 feet/ I got my hat broke off/ I report to the ghetto, I'm the black Brokaw/ No, I'm the rap 2-3/ So any championships must go through me."
Last month, Jay-Z brought Winfrey to Brooklyn, where the media mogul interviewed the rapper for her magazine and talk show. A few days after their discussion, Winfrey doted over Jay-Z on her friend Gayle King's radio show. She remarked how good the rapper smelled and called Jay her new best friend.
In an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday (September 9), it was Jay-Z who was full of praise as he talked up West. The producer manned the boards for the majority of The Blueprint 3, including the first two singles: "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)," which he co-produced with No ID, and "Run This Town," featuring West and Rihanna. Eight years ago, with the original Blueprint album, West was only a rising producer until he landed the lead track on that project, "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)."
Jay-Z said he's taken notice as West has evolved from upstart to superproducer. The outspoken younger artist was more of a quite protégé during the recording of 2001's The Blueprint. Now, however, Jay said being in the studio with West is more of a collaborative effort, particularly on this latest project.
"The most interesting thing in the studio was Kanye, because of Kanye's growth," he explained. "You got to figure on the first Blueprint, he was a new producer, so he was just putting in the beats and moving out the way. On this one, he had an opinion about how the songs should sound, and it was just great energy that we had in the studio."
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