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Jay-Z’s Open Letter
Jay-Z could have just let the controversy over his and Beyoncé’s trip to Cuba blow over, especially after the U.S. Treasury said the excursion was A-OK. But it’s way more fun to release a new song calling out politicians and name-dropping his BFF Obama.
The rapper has been all over the news lately, from last week’s controversial vacation in Havana to the announcement that he’s selling his stake in the Brooklyn Nets so he can become a sports agent.
After U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart questioned whether Jay-Z and Beyoncé had received license to visit Havana, Assistant Treasury Secretary Alastair Fitzpayne confirmed the trip was authorized by the Office of Foreign Assets Control to promote people-to-people contact.
Photo: Ramon Espinosa/AP
Touring Old Havana in Cuba while accompanied by bodyguards.
Jay-Z’s explanation about the trip via the new track “Open Letter” is a bit more interesting
“I done turned Havana to Atlanta / Guayabera shirts and bandanas … Boy from the hood but got White House clearance / Sorry y’all, I don’t agree with y’all appearance / Politicians never did s**t for me / Except lie to me, distort history / Wanna give me jail time and a fine / Fine, let me commit a real crime.”
He adds, “Obama said ‘Chill, you gonna get me impeached.’ But you don’t need this s**t anyway / Chill with me on the beach.”
Gawker points out that music blogs aren’t the only ones paying attention to the lyrics of “Open Letter.” Republican National Committee Reince Pribus and former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer tweeted about Jay-Z’s claim that the White House House approved the Havana trip.
“Based on what Jay Z rapped, boy am I glad I’m not Jay Carney today,” Fleischer tweeted about the current White House Press Secretary. “I bet potus spoke to Jay Z and did not tell Jay C.”
A reporter in the White House press briefing room today asked Carney about his thoughts about the lyrics.
“I guess nothing rhymes with Treasury,” Carney said, according to CNN.com.
He added, “I am absolutely saying that the White House and the president on down had nothing to do with anybody’s personal, anybody’s travel to Cuba. That is something the Treasury handles.”
Well, you can take Carney’s word or Jay-Z’s, it’s your choice. After all, in “Open Letter” Jay-Z points out that he’s basically “the Bob Dylan of rap.”
“Idiot wind, the Bob Dylan of rap music / You’re an idiot, baby, you should become a student,” Jay-Z raps, a play on Dylan’s line “You’re an idiot, babe.”
Oh, and about selling his share of the Nets?
“Would’ve brought the Nets to Brooklyn for free / Except I made millions off it, you f**in’ dweeb / I still own the building, I’m still keeping my seat.”
Check out (the NSFW) “Open Letter” below.