We Made It In America: Jay-Z - "Open Letter" (Brooklyn Nets & Cuba-gate, 2013)

Rather than just issue some dumb, pre-concieved press release/statement, veteran lyrical assassin Jay-Z decided to step into the studio and record a track about his involvement in a few current events. "Open Letter" bravely delves into slightly questionable shit like The Carters vacationing in Cuba (a restricted tourism zone) and having to sell his small fraction of the Brooklyn Nets in order to become a sports agent. Timbaland and Swizz Beatz co-produced the track, which also somehow manages to work in references to Kevin Hart's infamous "You gon learn t'day" comedy skit and Bob Dylan's Blood on The Tracks era single, "Idiot Wind" (1975). It's worth noting that Jay-Z most likely isn't working on a new album, cause his hair is pretty shaped up and well-kept ha, which in itself, basically alludes to time NOT spent in-studio.

Here's a few well-written bars pulled straight from the painfully short Life + Times-backed track: "Boy from the hood, but got White House clearance / Sorry y'all, I don't agree with y'all appearance... Would've brought the Nets to Brooklyn for free / Except I made millions off it, you fuckin' dweebs... The world's under new management / The new role model, fuck this Zoolander shit." As of Thursday night, The White House already issued a 1/2-assed statement in response to Jay-Z's rhymed allegations. I addition to plotting a summer-long [baseball] stadium tour with comeback kid Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z somehow found time to hand-pick performers/bands for Budweiser's second annual Made In America Festival. Taking place Labor Day Weekend (August 31-Sept. 1st) on the Ben Franklin Parkway, ticket prices are $99.50 and rising. We're talkin' about a line-up that includes: Beyoncé, Nine Inch Nails, "Black Hippy," Phoenix, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Miguel, Queens of The Stone Age, A$AP Rocky [& his "nigga Skrillex?"] Solange, Public Enemy, Imagine Dragons, Gaslight Anthem, AlunaGeorge, Wiz Khalifia, Mord Fustang, HAIM, and many more genre-blending artists!

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