It’s no secret that Jay-Z is crazy about his wife, Beyoncé, and he’ll no doubt take on any man in defense of his wife. But, before Jay-Z was keeping watch over “the baddest chick in the game,” he was feuding with former Bad Boy star Ma$e over another woman.
During a recent stop at MTV’s “RapFix Live,” Ma$e opened up about his little-known 1998 beef with Jay-Z. Most fans were unaware of the beef, as the rappers never referred to each other by name and kept their beefs under the radar. But, after years of silence, Ma$e finally revealed the source of his beef with Jay.
“A girl named Arion,” Ma$e revealed.
Fans of the rapper may remember a woman named Arion off a skit from Ma$e’s 1997 debut, Harlem World, in which playboy Ma$e confuses the names of his two girlfriends during a phone conversation. Well, apparently, that character was drawn from real life.
Ma$e says that Arion was a member of Jay’s Roc-A-Fella crew whom he had a fling with. Unfortunately, Arion’s boyfriend was also a member of Jay’s crew, and when they all found out about the fling, Jay was a little upset with Ma$e.
“I guess Jay inherited it because me and him never really had a problem,” Ma$e explained. “He said something, I said something back and that was about it.”
Though Ma$e downplays the beef, he admits that he’s also in awe of what went down between him and Jay.
“Do you believe that, though? That was over a girl,” he said in awe.
“At that time I was ruling, so there wasn’t really much to talk about,” he continued. “I respect what he did, I still respect what he’s doin’ and that’s it.”
Well, Ma$e and Jay certainly weren’t the only rappers to spar over a woman. Check out some similar hip-hop beefs below. –nicholas robinson
