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Well this is interesting.
Just shortly after news broke that Jay-Z was going to sell his ownership share of the Brooklyn Nets -- his 1/15th of one percent -- he wrote and released a song called "Open Letter."
Jay-Z drops a new record out of nowhere, but not really. The song is called "Open Letter" and is produced by Swizz Beatz and his Roc Nation buddy Timbaland. The beat is a pounding, drum filled number that Hova gets busy on. Read more at
Oh, cool, NetsDaily is posting about Jay-Z releasing a song. But, wait!
Jay-Z does make mention of his selling the Nets, and does so in an honorable diss fashion. Hova raps,"Would have brought the Nets to Brooklyn for free, except I made millions off of you f-cking dweebs; I still own the building, I'm still keeping my seats." [See update below]
Of course it's not clear who he is talking about -- though I'd like to think he's not talking about me/us. But it is clear that he's not happy with someone. One source of rising speculation: David Halbfinger, the New York Times reporter who first revealed his stake in the Nets.
Listen:
UPDATE:
There have been some discrepancies about the actual lyrics and whether he says "off it, you" or "off of you," and we're simply reporting what has been written. But, fully acknowledge the discrepancy. As do others.
I'm retracting my previous interpretation of Jay Z's lyric. He's talking about his haters (laughing at his 1/15th of 1 percent). Carry on.
— Stefan Bondy (@NYDNInterNets) April 11, 2013
- Jay-Z speaks out on selling ownership stake in Nets in new song - Tim Bontemps - NY Post
- Jay-Z, Brooklyn Nets: The Nets Need a New Jay - Jason Gay - Wall Street Journal
- Jay-Z Is In The Building: How He'll Profit On Nets After Selling Stake - Zach O'Malley Greenberg - Forbes
- Jay-Z's new song "Open Letter" addresses selling the Nets: "I made millions off of you f***ing dweeb" (AUDIO) - Devin Kharpertian - The Brooklyn Game
- Jay-Z Posts "Open Letter" Song Responding to Cuba Situation, Selling His Share in the Brooklyn Nets - Pitchfork
- Is Jay-Z dissing Nets fans? - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York
- On His Way Out, Jay-Z Takes Shot With ‘Open Letter’ - Josh Newman - SNY Nets
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Jay-Z targets critics in radio rap rant - New York Post
- Jay-Z apparently confirms plans to drop Nets ownership stake in new rap song - Ben Golliver - Sports Illustrated
- Jay-Z - "Open Letter" (Prod. By Swizz Beatz & Timbaland) [LISTEN] - Hip-Hop Wired
- Jay-Z's new song 'Open Letter' addresses selling share of the Nets - Royce Young - CBS Sports
- Jay-Z releases new song about selling his stake in the Brooklyn Nets, seems angry at someone - Dan Devine - Yahoo! Sports