Jay-Z and Kanye West were once one of the most dynamic duos in hip-hop, collaborating behind the scenes and trading raps on singles and their collaborative album, 2011’s Watch the Throne.
Since their heyday, however, the two have seemingly fallen out — and their steady stream of chart-topping collabs has dried up.
“He’s my brother. I love Kanye. I do. It’s a complicated relationship with us,” Jay told The New York Times in 2017. “Kanye came into this business on my label. So I’ve always been like his big brother. And we’re both entertainers. It’s always been like a little underlying competition with your big brother. And we both love and respect each other’s art too. … And then there’s like a lot of other factors that play in it. But it’s gonna, we gonna always be good.”
In the years since that interview, West has more often made headlines for his erratic behavior and controversial views than his music, losing numerous business deals in the wake of antisemitic comments he shared on social media in 2022. While Jay-Z has not commented on his colleague’s antics, it appears that the two are no longer close, with West claiming in April 2025 that their main source of discord stems from his support of President Donald Trump.
Keep scrolling for a look back at the many ups and downs Jay-Z and West have faced over the years:
2000
Jay-Z enlisted West, then an up-and-coming producer, for his fifth studio album, The Dynasty: Roc La Familia. It marked the beginning of a fruitful, yearslong artistic relationship, with West returning for 2001’s The Blueprint and producing hits like “Izzo (H.O.V.A.)” and “Takeover” (and contributing uncredited vocals on “Never Change”). West went on to contribute to many Jay-Z albums, including 2006’s Kingdom Come and 2009’s The Blueprint 3.
In 2002, West recalled playing Jay-Z his beats for the first time and showing him the tracks that eventually became “Heart of the City (Ain’t No Love)” and “Never Change” on The Blueprint. “He was listening to it like, ‘Yo, man, you a soulful dude,’” he told MTV, revealing that Jay-Z took his hat off when he really liked a beat. “Everything that Hov was saying is like, in stone. I will never forget none of these words. … This is like the moment of truth for me right here.”
2003
West produced “Lucifer” and “Encore” from Jay-Z’s eighth album, The Black Album, which Jay-Z claimed would be his last release before retirement. The retirement didn’t last, but The Black Album remains one of his most respected LPs. West, meanwhile, released his first solo single as a rapper, “Through the Wire.”
2004
West released his first solo album, The College Dropout, and Jay-Z contributed a guest verse on the track “Never Let Me Down.” At the Grammys the following year, West took home the Grammy for Best Rap Album (but lost Album of the Year).
2005
West made headlines when he claimed on live TV that then-President George W. Bush “doesn’t care about Black people” during a Hurricane Katrina telethon. Years later, Jay-Z said he had no issue with his friend’s remarks.
“I 100 percent agreed with the comments that he made, because again … it felt like it was being done to Black people,” he told the Associated Press in 2010. “Like, all you saw on the news was Black people with help signs and all this stuff, and then you have this picture of the commander in chief, who we all rely on, just flying by. It’s like, ‘What is that?’ If that had happened anywhere else besides New Orleans, would the response [have] been so slow?”
2010
West released his fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Jay-Z appeared on two tracks, including the smash hit “Monster” (which introduced much of the world to a young rapper named Nicki Minaj). Jay-Z’s wife, Beyoncé, also featured on a bonus track called “See Me Now.” The album won Best Rap Album at the Grammys in 2012.
While many critics consider MBDTF to be one of West’s best albums, he tweeted in 2025 that he hates it and “made it out of fear.”
2011
The duo released their first and only collaborative album, Watch the Throne, which included the hit singles “Otis” and “N****s in Paris.” In the “Otis” video, they defined friendship goals as they danced together in front of the American flag–inspired single cover art designed by fashion great Riccardo Tisci.
Weeks after the album dropped, Beyoncé announced her pregnancy (with Blue Ivy) on stage at the MTV Video Music Awards, and West was filmed grinning and giving Jay-Z playful shoulder slaps as they looked on from the audience.
2012
The pair teamed up with Big Sean for the song “Clique,” which appeared on West’s Cruel Summer compilation album. The duo also wrapped up the European leg of their Watch the Throne tour, where they famously performed “N****s in Paris” multiple times in a row. They set the record in Paris, playing it 11 times in succession.
2014
West contributed a guest verse to the official “Drunk in Love” remix, which appeared on Beyoncé’s self-titled 2013 album. Later that year, however, weeks after their infamous elevator incident with Solange Knowles and reported marital problems, Jay-Z and Beyoncé skipped West’s wedding to Kim Kardashian in Italy.
West later said he was “hurt” that they didn’t attend. “I understand they were going through some things, but if it’s family, you’re not going to miss a wedding,” he told Charlamagne Tha God during a 2018 interview on The Breakfast Club. “I’m not using this interview to put out any negative things, but I gotta state my truth. You just start coming up with all type of crazy things in your head, like ‘Why?’”
2015
When Jay-Z founded his Tidal streaming service, West was by his side at a press conference introducing the other founder-artists (also including Beyoncé, Rihanna, Madonna and many more) behind the app. Two years later, West exited the app after claiming that Tidal owed him money for marketing efforts. Tidal, meanwhile, claimed West hadn’t delivered assets he promised to the company.
2016
During the Sacramento stop of his Saint Pablo Tour, West went on a 15-minute rant in which he said was “hurt” Beyoncé and Jay-Z didn’t advocate for him to win a Video of the Year at the VMAs after he famously interrupted Taylor Swift in 2009 to claim Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” deserved the Best Female Video win.
“I’ve been sitting here to give y’all 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’ve been sitting here to give y’all the truth. Jay-Z, call me, bruh. You still ain’t calling me.”
2017
Jay-Z addressed West’s rant in an interview with The New York Times, saying that there was still “genuine love” between them despite the tension. “In the long relationship, you know, hopefully when we’re 89 we look at this six months or whatever time and we laugh at that,” he said. “There’s gonna be complications in the relationship that we have to get through. And the only way to get through that is we sit down and have a dialogue and say, ‘These are the things that I’m uncomfortable with. These are the things that are unacceptable to me. This is what I feel.’ I’m sure he feels that I’ve done things to him as well.”
In a separate interview, the “99 Problems” rapper addressed lyrics on the 4:44 track “Kill Jay Z” that referenced West. “It’s not even about Kanye, it really isn’t,” 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 whole point is, ‘You got hurt because this person was talking about you on a stage.’ But what really hurt me was, you can’t bring my kids and my wife into it. Kanye’s my little brother. He’s talked about me 100 times. He made a song called ‘Big Brother.’ We’ve gotten past bigger issues. But you brought my family into it, now it’s a problem with me. That’s a real, real problem. And he knows it’s a problem.”
Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs faced ups and downs while building their successful hip-hop empires. Running in similar industry circles since the ‘90s — when Diddy and Jay-Z launched Bad Boy Records and Roc-A-Fella Records, respectively, in New York City — the pair formed a friendly rivalry as their individual music careers took off. Over […]
2021
The twosome reunited for “Jail,” their first collaboration in years, which appeared on West’s 10th album, Donda. The track took home the trophy for Best Rap Song at the 2022 Grammys.
2025
In a series of since-deleted tweets, West made offensive comments about Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s twins, Rumi and Sir. While he later apologized for his remarks, he said he felt Jay-Z and Beyoncé should have done more for him during his split from Kardashian. “THEY COULD HAVE USED THEIR CULTURAL POSITION TO NOT JUST WATCH THE KARDASHIANS RUN ME OVER,” he wrote. “S*** HURTS … SO F*** BOTH OF THEM CAUSE WHEN I NEEDED THEM IT WAS F*** ME.”
He also claimed he and Jay-Z argued about his support of Trump, which was mentioned in the “Jail” lyrics. “Why did Jay Z have to say ‘no red hat’ on Jail,” West wrote via X. “That s*** tore me to my soul. We fought about it and he told me either leave that line on there or take my verse off. Me wearing the red hat was the most stand out example of me going against ‘the program.’ Do you guys think he was instructed to say that?”
Jay-Z did not respond to West’s comments.
