Over the weekend, Kanye West returned to the stage for the first time in months, performing at the X Games Austin Music Festival. Aside from a new stage and setlist, perhaps the biggest takeaway from the show were some of Kanye’s lyrics — or, lack thereof.
As KanyeToThe points out, Kanye omitted saying “Jay” or “Jay Z” during performances of both “Blood on the Leaves” and “Cold”. What’s more, in “Blood on the Leaves”, he changed the lyrics from “you need to stop actin’ lazy” to “you need to stop actin’ crazy”. The full lyrics were as such: “I don’t give a damn if you used to talk to ___ // He ain’t with you, he with Beyoncé, you need to stop actin’ crazy.”
It’s unclear whether The Throne collaborators are at odds, but Kanye had to know his omission of Jay Z’s name would be noticed by observant fans. Some have speculated that Jay’s non-attendance at Kanye’s wedding earlier this month may have sparked a riff. Prior to the wedding, however, Kanye and Jay recently performed as The Throne at SXSW and were photographed together at the Met Gala in NYC.
Below, watch footage of Kanye’s performance of “Blood on the Leaves” (the snub takes place at the 3:00 mark) and “Cold”.
Perhaps we’ll learn more when Kanye headlines Bonnaroo this Friday.
“Blood on the Leaves”:
“Cold”:
