Of all the people you could have expected to catch a stray on 4:44, no one was guessing there would be an Eric Benét diss. So of course Jay Z had one locked and loaded on the album's very first track, "Kill Jay Z," to let us all know that Jay's memory and ability to cross-reference is unmatched.
If you need a refresher, Jay said the following on 4:44's opening track, comparing his own missteps in his relationship with Beyoncé to Benét botching his marriage with one of the most beautiful women on earth, Halle Berry.
You almost went Eric Benét/Let the baddest girl in the world get away/I don’t even know what else to say/Nigga, never go Eric Benét
Dropping someone's name twice in the same sequence is pretty significant; you wouldn't hear most rappers in a legit beef call out their opponent by name once, let alone twice. Benét's screw up was so bad, Jay had to roast him for it two times consecutively, which is pretty cold-blooded.
Benét previously denied any animosity over the mockery, since he claims he's happy with his new wife, Manuela Testolini, otherwise known as the ex-wife of Prince. And in a new interview with TMZ, he claims he was not sweating the jab at all, and is even a big fan of Jay's new project.
"I'm in Cuba chillin' when this whole thing goes down, and my manager, we're having dinner, and she shows me this little blog. Apparently while I was in Cuba, [they said] I was at Jay Z's house, banging on his door," he said. "Crazy stuff. Nah, but I think it was dope, how he lyrically, you could hear the maturation and growth as a man, admitting when he was wrong, that's always a good thing. It definitely boosted my Twitter activity."
Hey yo #Jayz! Just so ya know, I got the baddest girl in the world as my wife....like right now! ✌🏾
Pressed further about whether he believes what Jay said is truthful about losing the baddest girl in the world, Benét made sure to protect his current relationship, reiterating what he tweeted in the wake of the controversy.
"I'm only thinking about my life right now, and I still stand by what I said, my wife is the most amazing woman in the world," said Benét.
You can watch the full interview with Benét up top, where he dishes on the boost of fame he got from getting name-dropped by Jay and the nature of being a viral story in 2017.
