What happened to Kanye West and Jay Z? The rappers' feud explained

Kanye West and Jay Z have dominated the rap scene in recent years. However, their relationship - both as collaborators and friends - has been anything but straightforward.

The last few years have seen the pair go from touring together, to publicly criticising each other - whether this be in public or on diss tracks.

Kanye West and Jay Z were once inseparable (Credit: PA)

How did Kanye West and Jay Z become friends?

Kanye was mentored by Jay Z since the 90's. And he, in turn, helped boost the veteran rapper's career, which was faltering at the time.

The Yeezy designer then worked as a producer for Jay Z's Rock-A-Fella Records. Shortly afterwards, he was signed to the label himself.

Kanye and Jay Z started collaborating together, and penned a number of successful chart hits, including No Church in the Wild and N***** in Paris.

Ultimately, they released their joint album, Watch the Throne in 2011, to critical acclaim.

Jay Z and Beyonce made headlines by not attending Kanye's wedding to Kim Kardashian (Credit: PA Images)

Why did Kanye West and Jay Z begin feuding?

If you're brushed up on your pop culture scandals, you'll know that tensions between Kanye and Jay Z began to rise after the 2009 VMAs.

At the event, Kanye infamously interrupted Taylor Swift's acceptance speech for the Best Female Video award. In the process, he also dragged Jay Z's wife, Beyoncé, into the furore, insisting that she should have won the prize instead.

Beyoncé was reportedly found crying after the exchange. She apparently said, "I didn't know this was going to happen" and that she felt "so bad" for Swift.

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Jay Z speaks to Zane Lowe about his relationship with Kanye

After a successful Watch the Throne tour, Jay Z spoke to Zane Lowe about this relationship with Kanye in 2013.

He said it was a "big brother thing and a respect thing", adding that "it’s always a good experience."

The rapper did, however, detail that their friendship wasn't always straightforward. "He's going to challenge everything because he's really trying to test it and poke holes to make sure that it stands up. I admire that. It kind of works for me," Jay Z said.

Jay Z Jay Z has referenced his feud with Kanye in song lyrics (Credit: Getty)

Jay Z and Beyoncé fail to attend Kanye and Kim Kardashian's wedding

The rumour mill really took off when Jay Z and Beyoncé failed to attend Kanye and Kim wedding, which was held in Florence, Italy.

This came after Beyoncé and the reality television star were reported to have bonded during the Watch the Throne tour.

Beyoncé did, however, take to Instagram to congratulate the pair on their nuptials.

An image of Kim Kardashian. Jay Z did not speak out publicly after Kim was robbed at gunpoint in Paris (Credit: Getty)

Jay Z fails to speak out after Kim Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint

When Kim was robbed in Paris, the rapper failed to offer his longtime friend support, in what Kanye deemed as his "hour of need".

On his Saint Pablo tour in Seattle West, Kanye infamously told the crowd:

"Don’t call me after the robbery and say 'how you feelin?' You wanna know how I’m feelin? Come by the house. Bring the kids by the house. Like we’re brothers. Let’s sit down. I can’t take this sh*t bro. Our kids have never even played together."

He reiterated his feelings during his Sacramento show, where he slammed Jay Z again:

"Call me, bruh! You still ain’t calling me! JAY-Z, call me! Aye, bruh, I know you got killers, please don’t send them at my head! Just call me! Talk to me like a man!" he said.

Kanye was hospitalised for exhaustion soon after his performance, and duly cancelled the rest of his tour.

Kanye West Kanye and Jay Z have reportedly now built bridges

Jay Z disses Kanye in 4:44

Lyrics on Jay Z's track Kill JAY-Z from 4:44, featured the lines:

"But you got hurt because you did cool by 'Ye / You gave him 20 million without blinkin' / He gave you 20 minutes on stage, f*ck was he thinkin'?/ 'F*ckin' wrong with everybody?' is what you sayin' / But if everybody's crazy, you're the one that's insane."

Kanye leaves Jay Z's TIDAL

Kanye originally acted as one of the co-owners of Jay Z's streaming service.

But in July of 2017, he is said to have left the streaming service, after allegedly being owed over three million dollars.

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Kanye reveals the trouble all began when Jay Z didn't come to his wedding

While speaking to Charlamagne Tha God on iHeartRadio's The Breakfast Club, Kanye revealed that his fall-out with Jay-Z started when he and Beyoncé were no-shows his 2014 nuptials.

"I was hurt about them not coming to the wedding," he said. "I understand they were going through some things, but if it's family, you're not going to miss a wedding."
Kanye added that he's never actually asked Jay-Z why the Carters skipped the wedding. "I don't think I ever asked him that question, directly.

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Jay Z says he and Kanye are "brothers" on Twitter

Jay Z took to Twitter to clear the air after reports claimed he slammed Kanye West on Meek Mill's album, Championships.

"The line clearly meant don’t pit me against my brothers no matter what our differences are (red hat)," he wrote on social media.

Jay Z has described Kanye as his "brother" (Credit: Getty)

The rappers reunite at Diddy's 50th birthday party

The rappers were seen embracing and taking pictures at the party, putting an end to rumours of an estrangement between the pair.

In fact, TMZ reports that the pair reached an agreement on their TIDAL lawsuit earlier this year.

Perhaps, this finally marks the end to years of drama...