Jay-Z reveals two-week Kanye West row over anti-MAGA lyric on their 2021 collabo ‘Jail’

Jay-Z has revealed that he and Kanye West argued for about two weeks over an anti-MAGA lyric included in their 2021 collaboration, “Jail”.

The 56-year-old rapper discussed the disagreement during the sixth episode of his HBO documentary series, JAŸ-Z in 8, in which he sits down with longtime friend and producer Rick Rubin to examine his music, life and creative process.

“Jail”, which appeared on West’s Donda album, marked a reunion between the two rappers following years of tension in their personal and professional relationship.

However, Jay-Z’s guest verse almost failed to make the final version of the song because West objected to a line referencing his support for President Donald Trump.

“Told him, ‘Stop all of that red cap, we goin’ home,’” Jay-Z rapped on the track.

The “red cap” was widely understood as a reference to the red “Make America Great Again” hat West had repeatedly worn while publicly supporting Trump.

Kanye West objected to the lyric

Jay-Z said West made it clear that the line made him uncomfortable and wanted it changed.

“I think we argued about this verse maybe two weeks after,” Jay-Z recalled. “I was like, ‘This is why I didn’t wanna do this verse.’ It wasn’t easy.”

According to Jay-Z, West specifically challenged him over the political reference.

“He was like, ‘The red line is not making me comfortable,’” Jay-Z said. “And I was like, ‘Sorry, I’m not gonna change it. That’s how I feel.’”

Jay-Z remained firm in his refusal to rewrite the lyric, but he also acknowledged that Donda was West’s project and that the final decision belonged to him.

Rather than force West to release material that made him uncomfortable, Jay-Z suggested removing his entire guest verse.

“I said, ‘I understand how you feel; you should probably take the verse off,’” he explained.

“If you feel strongly enough about it, I’m not gonna change it, but respectfully, you should take it off because this is your project. Everything on it should be the way you want it to be.”

Despite their disagreement, West ultimately kept Jay-Z’s full contribution, including the controversial red cap line.

West said the lyric ‘tore me to my soul’

West later revealed that the exchange had deeply affected him.

In a since-deleted social media post shared in 2025, the rapper questioned why Jay-Z had insisted on keeping the reference to his MAGA hat.

“Why did Jay Z have to say ‘no red hat’ on ‘Jail’?” West wrote. “That s*** tore me to my soul.”

“We fought about it, and he told me either leave that line on there or take my verse off.”

West said wearing the red MAGA hat had been one of the clearest examples of his willingness to resist what he described as “the programme”.

He also questioned whether Jay-Z had been instructed by someone else to include the lyric.

West’s public support for Trump became one of the most controversial chapters of his career. He visited Trump at the White House in October 2018 while wearing a MAGA hat and praised the president during an extraordinary Oval Office meeting.

Jay-Z stands by his artistic integrity

Discussing the disagreement with Rubin, Jay-Z said he understood why West objected but believed changing the lyric would have compromised his own artistic integrity.

“I got what he was saying,” Jay-Z explained. “But I also know that if it was switched, he would stand by the artistic integrity of what he created.”

Although the row exposed the political and personal differences between the two artists, Jay-Z also spoke warmly about West during the documentary.

He described his former Watch the Throne collaborator as “one of the most brilliant creatives we’re ever going to see” and suggested that their complicated bond had not completely disappeared.

“No matter what, he’s always had this space for me and this reverence as his big brother,” Jay-Z said.

“Obviously, he does his things, but I know he hasn’t lost that feeling.”

The pair released their acclaimed collaborative album Watch the Throne in 2011, but their friendship subsequently suffered amid public disagreements and West’s increasingly controversial behaviour.

“Jail” represented a high-profile musical reunion when Donda was released in August 2021.

The newly revealed argument shows that even their reunion was marked by the same creative tensions, political divisions and personal loyalty that have defined their complicated relationship.