Jay-Z surprised the crowd in Paris when he stepped on stage with Beyoncé during her Cowboy Carter tour stop on June 22 — marking the first time the power couple have performed live together in six years. Fans were treated to hits like Crazy in Love and Drunk in Love, along with a reworked version of Partition.
One moment that caught everyone’s attention was when Jay-Z subtly changed a line in his rap that originally mentioned Kanye West — replacing it with Beyoncé’s name instead. Fans quickly noticed the tweak, sparking fresh chatter about Jay-Z and West’s famously complicated relationship.
The two rappers have had an on-again, off-again friendship for over a decade. Tensions flared back up in 2021 when West publicly criticised Jay-Z for a lyric about his MAGA hat in their song Jail. West later deleted his posts but made it clear the line had stung.
Earlier this year, things got messy again when West dragged Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s children into his rants online. Although he later apologised, he claimed the pair didn’t stand by him during his personal crises.
For many fans, Jay-Z’s small lyric swap in Paris feels like a quiet message that he’s keeping his distance — at least for now. While both men remain icons in hip-hop, their rocky friendship keeps giving fans plenty to talk about.
