JAY-Z and Beyoncé are basically the king and queen of pop culture. They're more poised than Kim K and Kanye, and they definitely seem more grounded than a lot of the Hollywood elite out there today. So when the family hit a rough patch a few years ago, it was jarring for a lot of us.
You might remember that 2014 through 2016 was a difficult time for Jay and Bey. It started with Solange Knowles (Beyoncé's sister and awe-inspiring musician in her own right) getting in a physical fight with Hova. Leaked security footage revealed Solange kicking Jay in an elevator, while Beyoncé looks on.
Then, two years later, Bey dropped "Lemonade," a badass album full of empowering tracks for women who caught their significant other cheating on them. Like a second grade math problem, plenty of fans added two and two together, coming to the conclusion that Solange was angry with her brother-in-law for having the audacity to text Becky with the good hair when Queen Bey is, well, a queen.
Now, JAY-Z has opened up about that rough patch in the family's life. The "4:44" rapper appeared Tidal's Rap Radar podcast to discuss his relationship with Solange.
"We've always had a great relationship. I fought my brothers and argued with my brothers my whole life. It just so happens, who we are, these things go into a different space, but it ain't nothing," Hova told journalist Elliott Wilson. "We've had one disagreement ever. Before and after, we've been cool. She's like my sister. I will protect her. That's my sister. Not my sister-in-law. My sister."
Some have claimed that the elevator fight was all a publicity stunt to bring more attention to the three artists. TBH, that's a stretch seeing as Beyoncé and JAY-Z were huge names in 2014, and Solange's music (not her ability to win a fight) was already generating plenty of attention at that point. But Jay still shot those rumors down once and for all.
"I think we went into that elevator great artists. That don't surprise me. I've always loved Solange's music," Jay said during the interview. "I think she was slept on before this album [2016's 'A Seat at the Table']. I thought the album before this one was amazing too. Incredible artist."
OK, looks like Jay and Solange's relationship is tighter than ever before. The Knowles-Carter bond is still strong -- thank you hip hop gods. But what about his wife's jaw-dropping "Lemonade" album? Was he mad at her for airing the family's dirty laundry like that? Nope, because JAY-Z knows not to get in the way of Beyoncé's creativity.
"We were working on our sh*t and becoming tight and super real with each other. That sh*t don't mean nothing," Jay revealed. "It's hard, of course. It's difficult to go through, but the real sh*t [...] I was there the whole time, the tour, the making of the album, it was therapeutic. It was good. It's good to deal with your sh*t. It's so worth it."
One person close to JAY-Z who is not good at dealing with sh*t, however, is Kanye West. Although the two rappers go way back and have had issues before, Hova says that Yeezy crossed a serious line when he brought the former's family into their feud.
"What really hurt me was, you can't bring my kids and my wife into it. Kanye's my little brother. He's talked about me a hundred times. He made a song called 'Big Brother.' We've gotten past bigger issues. But you brought my family into it and now it's a problem with me. Now it's a real, real problem. He knows it's a problem because me and him would have talked about it, we would have resolved our issue, but he knows he crossed the line. I know him. He knows."
Moral of the story: JAY-Z knows the importance of respecting the women in his life and not getting in the way of their creativity. He will also always stand up for family, so don't cross Beyoncé, Solange, Blue Ivy or his newborn twins unless you're ready to cross Hova too.