The rappers were competitive with one another during the early days of their careers, but they’ve since worked together and become friends

NEED TO KNOW

• Jay-Z reflected on his former rivalry with fellow rapper Nas in a new episode of his JAŸ-Z in 8 docuseries
• He said that it started when they were pitted against each other near the beginning of their careers in the ‘90s; however, they were able to figure things out in the years that followed
• “It just escalated to a point where it was like a full-on battle. But no violence. Then we just moved on. And now we’re really good friends,” he said

Jay-Z opened up about his friendship and former rivalry with fellow rapper Nas.

During the seventh episode of the JAŸ-Z in 8 docuseries, which aired on Friday, Oct. 9, the 56-year-old “Empire State of Mind” musician reflected on being pitted against Nas, 53, after they both emerged on the scene in the ‘90s.

While he acknowledged that the beef “fizzled out at the end,” Jay-Z explained that it “was just like more of a competition.”

“From my lens. I came out with Reasonable Doubt and [Steve] Stoute was in both our ear, whose a friend of both ours. He’s a competitive chap that Stout. Nas comes out in ‘94. I come out in ‘96,” he said. The rapper said that they “had so much respect for one another,” explaining, “It got personal, but it wasn’t really personal.”

However, Jay-Z added that he was less than impressed when Nas allegedly didn’t show up to a studio appointment where they were supposed to record a collaboration.

“He just never showed up to the studio. And I’m not really a guy like that, you just say you coming and don’t come. Can’t count on him, not gonna ask him ever again. That was that, never asking him again. But not a problem, we don’t have a problem,” he recalled.

A “cold war” of sorts did start after Nas threw what Jay-Z “perceived to be shots” on his sophomore album.

“It just escalated to a point where it was like a full-on battle. But no violence. Then we just moved on. And now we’re really good friends,” he said.

Jay-Z and Nas famously set aside any rivalry and joined forces in 2022 on DJ Khaled’s song “Sorry Not Sorry.”

“Man, it was a dream come true for me, but also a gift to the world. Just to be able to put that together was unbelievable,” Khaled, 50, told PEOPLE at the time, noting that the project was years in the making.

By that time, Jay-Z and Nas had already set aside any drama. Khaled said he got the idea to get the pair on a song together after a star-studded dinner where he saw them “just having the best conversations.”

“It took me I would say maybe four to five years to get the courage to ask. But I knew that day, that is possible, because I felt the love. I asked both of them [about] working on this album. And they were like, ‘Let’s do it,’” he said.

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In the new docuseries, Jay-Z agreed with the theory that competing with Nas helped elevate both of their games.

“To his credit, he really rose to the occasion,” he said of Nas. “I’ll say that. I don’t know how interested he was in being a recording artist at that time. He would make an album or something and he was just gone, would disappear. And after that, he was making music on a regular basis.”

He continued, “I’m not saying I was the cause of it, but you’re asking the question, I’m sure it lit a fire under him. For me, I was rolling at the time. This is Blueprint, Vol. 2 era, I was selling five, six million records, going on tour, I was unstoppable. It definitely kept me sharp in that space.” 

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