JAY-Z was cutting up back in the day when he was beefing with Ma$e, just like Kendrick Lamar is amid the popularity of his “Not Like Us” Drake diss.
Over the weekend, 40 Cal shared a video that went viral. In the brief clip, the Harlem rapper recounted a particular instance when Hov pulled up on Ma$e in a video. The Dipset affiliate spoke briefly about JAY-Z and Ma$e’s 1997 beef, which the former Bad Boy lyricist claimed began over a “a girl named Arion.”
While the beef was predominantly propelled by subliminal shots sent on wax, 40 Cal described an incident when JAY-Z decided to cut out the passive-aggressive disses and instead, opt for a more direct approach. Hov reportedly pulled up to Harlem with the sole purpose of battling Ma$e on his block.
“So about 20 minutes later, JAY-Z pulls up in the 4.6 Range [Rover] that he always talked about, the black joint,” 40 Cal said. “He hops out. I’m looking, I’m like, I couldn’t believe this s###. He hops out first thing he says to this n###a, ‘What you want to battle? Anybody got a microphone?’”
As 40 Cal continued, he remarked on his reaction to the situation, recalling how he felt the need to pressure Ma$e to stand on business.
“It f##### me up that I’m like, ‘The f##k got microphones out here?’” he said. “But I’m like, ‘Ma$e do something s##t.’ N###a JAY-Z just came over here and said ‘What’s good n###a?’ Deadass right?”
As he continued recounting the incident, 40 Cal spoke about the tense interaction between JAY-Z and Ma$e that followed the initial confrontation.
“So n###a Ma$e said, ‘Yeah, all that cool, but who was you talking about on that song when you check your own video number?’” he said. “And n###a Jay was like, ‘Everybody know I’m talking about you.'”
Dipset Affiliate 40 Cal recalls a time when JAY-Z pulled up to Ma$e’s block in Harlem to battle and told Ma$e to his face that he was dissing him on “Ride Or Die” 😳 pic.twitter.com/Bl7Gp0MUKw
— 💎🍾 (@TheRocSupremacy) May 18, 2024
The song 40 Cal mentioned is JAY-Z’s “Ride Or Die,” which appeared on his Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life album.
“I whack rap n###as, severely punished them,” he raps. “Especially those that get f###ed for they publishing/Always got to be the weakest n###a out the crew/I probably make more money off your album than you/You see the respect I get every time I come through.
“Check your own videos, you always be number two/N##### talking real breezy on them R&B records/Well I’m platinum a million times n###a check the credit.”
Prior to “Ride Or Die,” Ma$e reportedly dissed JAY-Z first in his feature verse on 112’s “Love Me” and also on his song “What You Want,” which featured a mention of the same Arion that exacerbated their beef.
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