In the timeline of Hip-Hop, some of the best years were the ones encompassing JAY-Z and Ye’s working relationship. That brief period yielded some of the genre’s best music and continues to influence generations. As the story’s usually told, Hov helped the Chicago producer break through. But M.I.A. recently credited the artist formerly known as Kanye West for being a key part of the Brooklyn rapper’s success.
“He added the creativity to that whole thing,” she said of the Vultures artist in a recent viral clip from her July 2024 appearance on the PBD Podcast. “I don’t think they give him enough respect and dues. Yes, JAY-Z was more of a businessman. Kanye was always the artistic one. He’s the creative one. I connected with that and JAY-Z obviously had the clout and the reputation. But, I saw that they both represented two different dynamics.”
The 49-year-old singer also spoke about their legendary 2011 collaborative album Watch The Throne and how while they co-existed for so many years, “only one person was gonna get the throne.” Hov and Ye’s relationship has soured as of late, largely due to their political differences and the fashion designer’s errant outbursts. Despite where they currently stand, M.I.A. believes they both deserve equal credit for what they brought to the game, even if their contributions were different.
Despite giving JAY-Z praise, M.I.A. hasn’t always had the best relationship with the multi-time Grammy winner. She signed to his Roc Nation label in 2012 and left just two years later. Recently, she accused the father of three of pressuring her to look a certain way. “The first thing he said to me was, ‘Get plastic surgery,’” she said on Instagram Live back in November 2024.
“I’m not insecure because I would have got plastic surgery. So their argument of ‘Maya’s f**king insecure, that’s why she needs to f**king massage her ego,’ fails. It fails because you turn around and ask … What women do you know who hasn’t had plastic surgery around [JAY-Z]? All of them have. I’m the only one who didn’t, which already proves the fact it’s not insecurity.”
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