Republicans Are Up In Arms Over Jay-Z's Trip To Cuba, So He Responded With A Vicious Track
Republicans are already seizing on one line from the new track, which Jay-Z released on his website — "I got White House clearance." U.S. citizens cannot travel to Cuba unless approved by the government. According to multiple reports, the Treasury Department said it approved the trip as part of an "educational" exchange.
Upon release of the new track, called "Open Letter," the Republican National Committee sent out an email questioning whether the White House had a hand in the approval. Subsequently facing questions on the topic from reporters, White House press secretary Jay Carney said that the White House didn't have anything to do with it.
"I guess nothing rhymes with Treasury," Carney joked, "because Treasury offers and gives licenses for travel, as you know, and the White House has nothing to do with it."
Jay-Z and Beyoncé have faced criticism from Florida lawmakers, including Republican Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Mario Diaz-Balar, and Sen. Marco Rubio.
On the track, Jay-Z pushed back.
"Politicians never did s— for me, except lie to me, distort history," he raps. "They wanna give me jail time and a fine? Fine, let me commit a real crime."
Listen to the song and find the lyrics below (for what it's worth, the beat's solid):
And the lyrics:
Verse 1
I done turned Havana to Atlanta
Guayabera shirts and bandannas Every time you think they got me I switch the planner 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 s— 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 f—n' dweeb I still own the building, I'm still keeping my seat Y'all buy that bulls—, you'd better keep y'all receipt Obama said "chill, you gonna get me impeached" But you don't need this s— anyway, chill with me on the beach
Verse 2
Ya'll almost want to start a revolutionYou know whenever I'm threatened, I start shooting, barkCatch a body, head to HoustonI'm in Cuba, I love CubansThis communist talk is so confusingWhen it's from China, the very mic that I'm usingIdiot wind, the Bob Dylan of rap musicYou're an idiot, baby, you should become a studentOh, you gonna learn todayWhere the f— have you beenThe world's under new managementThe new role model, f— this Zoolander s—
UPDATE: Kanye West offers his thoughts on the track:
Twitter/@kanyewest