April 11, 2013
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Although Jay-Z had been silent amid the furor surrounding his anniversary celebration in Cuba last week with Beyoncé, he was certainly paying attention: The rapper spoke up this morning with "Open Letter," a scathing new song addressing critics of his trip.

Jay-Z scoffs at grandstanding elected officials on the track, which was produced by Timbaland and Swizz Beatz. "Politicians never did shit for me / Except lie to me, distort history," he rhymes. "Want to give me jail time and a fine / Fine, let me commit a real crime."

"Open Letter" - Soundcloud

[Edited 4/17/13 5:35am]

Man............I actually dig this joint.

"Would've brought the Nets to Brooklyn for free/ Except I made millions off you f***ing dweeb. I still own the building. I'm still keeping my seats/ Y'all buy that bulls***/ y'all better keep y'all receipts''.

Damn Hov.... Y'all Gon Learn Today!!!!!!!

He has every right to "clap back" at his critics, that's the American way for anyone with the platform he has.

But I can't help but imagine the results if he would use that platform in a similar way on issues of the day NOT involving him directly. Certainly, he doesn't have to. But still.

Ladies and gentlemen
Goddamnit
Let this shit knock

[Verse 1]
I done turned Havana to Atlanta
Guayabera shirts and bandanas
Every time you think they got me I switch the planna
Bulletproof this, radio scanners
Ballin' 'til they ban us
You gettin' too much bread, they try to jam you
Boy from the hood but got White House clearance
Sorry y'all, I don't agree with y'all appearance
Politicians never did shit for me
Except lie to me, distort history
Wanna give me jail time and a fine
Fine, let me commit a real crime
I might buy a kilo for Chief Keef
Out of spite, I just might flood these streets
Hear the freedom in my speech
Got an onion from Universal, read it and weep
Would've brought the Nets to Brooklyn for free
Except I made millions off it, you fuckin' dweeb
I still own the building, I'm still keeping my seat
Y'all buy that bullshit, you'd better keep y'all receipt
Obama said "chill, you gonna get me impeached"
But you don't need this shit anyway
Chill with me on the beach

[Hook - Swizz Beatz]
Y'all gon' learn today

[Verse 2]
Ya'll almost want to start a revolution
You know whenever I'm threatened, I start shooting, bark
Catch a body, head to Houston
I'm in Cuba, I love Cubans
This communist talk is so confusing
When it's from China, the very mic that I'm using
Idiot wind, the Bob Dylan of rap music
You're an idiot, baby, you should become a student
Oh, you gonna learn today
Where the fuck have you been
The world's under new management
The new role model, fuck this Zoolander shit

namepeace said:

He has every right to "clap back" at his critics, that's the American way for anyone with the platform he has.

But I can't help but imagine the results if he would use that platform in a similar way on issues of the day NOT involving him directly. Certainly, he doesn't have to. But still.

Because he is not a real MC and he does not care about social issues or norms that affects people or the world. He just cares about money and his own reputation, fuck him and his corny ass rhymes.

mjscarousal said:

namepeace said:

He has every right to "clap back" at his critics, that's the American way for anyone with the platform he has.

But I can't help but imagine the results if he would use that platform in a similar way on issues of the day NOT involving him directly. Certainly, he doesn't have to. But still.

Because he is not a real MC and he does not care about social issues or norms that affects people or the world. He just cares about money and his own reputation, fuck him and his corny ass rhymes.

Can't argue with that.

''Got cleared by the Treasury/ Reich Wingers botherin' me/ worked up big time/ Mitch McConnell bugged my vaca room/ just to hear me rhyme."

mjscarousal said:

Lmao now Fox News done took a verse from the song and turned it all around. They went up to the White House asking if the President cleared the trip to Cuba because Jay said "Boy from the hood but got White House clearance" and all he is saying is that he's been in the White House..

Fox Fascist Propaganda News wouldn't give a flip about Jay-Z or his vacation destinations were he not a big Obama supporter and campaign donor.

Excuse me while I throw up...

Identity said:

Fox Fascist Propaganda News wouldn't give a flip about Jay-Z or his vacation destinations were he not a big Obama supporter and campaign donor.

To be honest, he played into their cards. Now we won't hear the last of it from them nincompoops.

banks said:

Lmao now Fox News done took a verse from the song and turned it all around. They went up to the White House asking if the President cleared the trip to Cuba because Jay said "Boy from the hood but got White House clearance" and all he is saying is that he's been in the White House..

yup!!

I really like this track though..

Yeah, another day, another manufactured political scandal to keep us from discussing the real issues facing this nation.

Timmy84 said:

Identity said:

Fox Fascist Propaganda News wouldn't give a flip about Jay-Z or his vacation destinations were he not a big Obama supporter and campaign donor.

To be honest, he played into their cards. Now we won't hear the last of it from them nincompoops.

I have to agree with you.. just because he mentioned his access to the White House and the POTUS they gonna make a big deal out of nothing..

Identity said:

Yeah, another day, another manufactured political scandal to keep us from discussing the real issues facing this nation.

Right. It's like "thanks a lot Jay-Z..."

Identity said:

Yeah, another day, another manufactured political scandal to keep us from discussing the real issues facing this nation.

I agree ...... but like Timmy84 said Jay Z did this to himself and I dont feel sorry for him.

This is what happens when you think you are more important than what you really are.

(What does the White House have to do with him going to Cuba anyway? That doesnt necessarily mean he got permission just because he has gone to the White House and knows Obama....

silly lyrics)

If I had Jay Z's money and the media scolded me ..... I would laugh because I wouldnt care.

Its funny how his quick to respond to the media but wont respond to The Game, DMX etc calling him out for a free style battle

Probably because he knows he will lose.....

mjscarousal said:

Identity said:

Yeah, another day, another manufactured political scandal to keep us from discussing the real issues facing this nation.

I agree ...... but like Timmy84 said Jay Z did this to himself and I dont feel sorry for him.

This is what happens when you think you are more important than what you really are.

(What does the White House have to do with him going to Cuba anyway? That doesnt necessarily mean he got permission just because he has gone to the White House and knows Obama....

silly lyrics)

If I had Jay Z's money and the media scolded me ..... I would laugh because I wouldnt care.

Its funny how his quick to respond to the media but wont respond to The Game, DMX etc calling him out for a free style battle

Probably because he knows he will lose.....

He knows X will eat his ass up.

X would eat his ass up like he was dog chow...

Gunsnhalen said:

mjscarousal said:

Because he is not a real MC and he does not care about social issues or norms that affects people or the world. He just cares about money and his own reputation, fuck him and his corny ass rhymes.

I actually gotta agree with ya. After re-listening to the blueprint the lyrics are whack but the production is amazing. Black album as well! Reasonable doubt is the only album where jay had some real clever lyrics and word play. But tbh the production Kanye, pharell, r. Kelly and others did were pretty fucking great so I guess I dig jays music more from production standpoint.

mjscarousal said:

X would eat his ass up like he was dog chow...

Pretty much.

mjscarousal said:

Identity said:

Yeah, another day, another manufactured political scandal to keep us from discussing the real issues facing this nation.

I agree ...... but like Timmy84 said Jay Z did this to himself and I dont feel sorry for him.

This is what happens when you think you are more important than what you really are.

(What does the White House have to do with him going to Cuba anyway? That doesnt necessarily mean he got permission just because he has gone to the White House and knows Obama....

silly lyrics)

If I had Jay Z's money and the media scolded me ..... I would laugh because I wouldnt care.

Its funny how his quick to respond to the media but wont respond to The Game, DMX etc calling him out for a free style battle

Probably because he knows he will lose.....

That's just it.. That verse has nothing to do with the Trip. He is saying he's a boy from Brooklyn and has white house clearance' you know this kid that grew up in the pj's now can get in to the White House to see the POTUS..

Timmy84 said:

Identity said:

Yeah, another day, another manufactured political scandal to keep us from discussing the real issues facing this nation.

Right. It's like "thanks a lot Jay-Z..."

I gotta disagree. The Right Wing is so entrenched in its hatred for the Obamas that the slightest issue creates an uproar.

banks said:

" and all he is saying is that he's been in the White House..

Yes, I got that the first time I heard it. Neo-cons are too obtuse and unhip to know what he's talking about.

Identity said:

Timmy84 said:

I gotta disagree. The Right Wing is so entrenched in its hatred for the Obamas that the slightest issue creates an uproar.

banks said:

" and all he is saying is that he's been in the White House..

Yes, I got that the first time I heard it. Neo-cons are too obtuse and unhip to know what he's talking about.

It ain't even that. Media on both sides want us to talk about this... Fuck all of them and Jay-Z.

White House Dismisses Rapper's Cuba Song

By Mary Bruce | ABC OTUS News – 2 hrs 7 mins ago

Rapper Jay-Z's latest track is getting poor reviews from the White House.

In the song, entitled "Open Letter," Jay-Z brags that he "got White House clearance" for his recent controversial trip to Cuba with wife Beyonce.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney today denied the White House had any involvement with their trip, saying the Treasury Department handles all clearances for travel to Cuba.

"I guess nothing rhymes with Treasury," Carney joked.

In the song, Jay-Z also recounts a conversation he had with President Obama about his trip. "Obama said, 'Chill, you, gonna get me impeached… We don't need this s-t anyway, chill with me on the beach," he raps in the nearly three-minute song.

Carney dismissed the claim. "It's a song," he said. "The president did not communicate with Jay-Z over this trip."

"I am absolutely saying that the White House, from the president on down, had nothing to do with anybody's personal - anybody's travel to Cuba. That is something that Treasury handles," he said.

Jay-Z and Beyonce's trip to Havana was government-sanctioned and allowed through a licensed program that encourages "meaningful contacts" with Cubans.

According to the new song, they "turned Havana into Atlanta" with "Guayabera shirts and bandanas," Jay-Z raps.

mjscarousal said:

namepeace said:

He has every right to "clap back" at his critics, that's the American way for anyone with the platform he has.

But I can't help but imagine the results if he would use that platform in a similar way on issues of the day NOT involving him directly. Certainly, he doesn't have to. But still.

Because he is not a real MC and he does not care about social issues or norms that affects people or the world. He just cares about money and his own reputation, fuck him and his corny ass rhymes.

I wonder if he played this for his "boy" Obama, the politicians you have issue with INCLUDE him, he controls who gets investigated, wanna be real Jay, bring it all out, him pulling back like that still shows his double standards

banks said:

mjscarousal said:

I agree ...... but like Timmy84 said Jay Z did this to himself and I dont feel sorry for him.

This is what happens when you think you are more important than what you really are.

(What does the White House have to do with him going to Cuba anyway? That doesnt necessarily mean he got permission just because he has gone to the White House and knows Obama....

silly lyrics)

If I had Jay Z's money and the media scolded me ..... I would laugh because I wouldnt care.

Its funny how his quick to respond to the media but wont respond to The Game, DMX etc calling him out for a free style battle

Probably because he knows he will lose.....

That's just it.. That verse has nothing to do with the Trip. He is saying he's a boy from Brooklyn and has white house clearance' you know this kid that grew up in the pj's now can get in to the White House to see the POTUS..

Jay Z was responding to the controversy he is receiving due to going to Cuba, period.

It has nothing to do with the bolded.

It backfired.