Oh boy, here we go … British-Sri Lankan rapper M.I.A. has offered fresh insight into the influential partnership between Jay-Z and Kanye West, suggesting that West’s creative vision was instrumental in elevating Jay-Z’s career to new heights. During a recent appearance on The PBD Podcast, the “Paper Planes” artist analyzed the dynamic between the two hip-hop icons.
“He added the creativity to that whole thing,” M.I.A. said of West’s contribution. “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.”
Get this, the Grammy-nominated artist reflected on their collaborative album Watch the Throne, noting, “Only one person was gonna get the throne.” She highlighted their divergent career trajectories and political affiliations, with Jay-Z supporting Barack Obama while West publicly backing Donald Trump.
I guess you can say M.I.A. spoke from personal experience. She was signed to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation label in 2012 before departing just over a year later. She previously made headlines in November when she claimed on Instagram Live that Jay-Z encouraged her to undergo cosmetic surgery upon joining the label.
“The first thing he told me to do is get plastic surgery,” she revealed. “I’m not insecure because I would have got plastic surgery. So their argument of ‘Maya’s insecure, that’s why she needs to massage her ego,’ fails.”