Lance "Un" Rivera Tells JAY-Z to Move On With Open Letter Response to Roots Picnic Freestyle

Former labelhead Lance “Un” Rivera is speaking out after being mentioned in JAY-Z’s now-infamous Roots Picnic freestyle. Rivera has shared an open letter that says JAY needs to move past their notorious 1999 stabbing incident, which was referenced in the freestyle lyrics. 

In the letter, Rivera called for JAY to use his voice to plant “seeds of hope, discipline, ownership and awareness,” while praising the rapper’s accomplishments as  “proof of what can happen when talent meets opportunity and when ambition refuses to surrender to systems designed to contain it.”

Un later elaborated on his problem with the freestyle in an interview with The Art of Dialogue.

“I thought it was not one of the best bars that he’s had,” Rivera said. “I think what people need to understand is that most of Jay-Z’s intentions are purely based on marketing rollouts. I was part of the rollout for the products that’s going out right now in the streets. So, I fell victim to that.”

“You ever heard of a wunderkind? /

My children is some of them, have you niggas no shame? /

Y'all tryin' to get under skin /

I really get under skin, ask Un how I'm playin'...” - JAY-Z, “Roots Picnic Freestyle”

The Roots Picnic was only the most recent time JAY-Z has mentioned the stabbing incident. He’s referenced the moment many times in lyrics, including songs like “I Did It My Way” and 2005’s “Dear Summer.” It’s something Rivera wants to end. 

“I’m used over and over again in that capacity,” Rivera said. “From the beginning, it’s always been about marketing. I continue to be the joke.”

“He talks about trauma, but what about my trauma? What about people who lived trauma? He keeps bringing it back up and back up.”

Rivera said that JAY-Z has built an empire and should focus on healing as opposed to revisiting the darker moments from the past. 

“If you want to send the message to your brand and your partnerships that you’re dangerous… using me as an example of how dangerous you are just to sell products, then that’s up to him,” Rivera said. “I’m not against him making money… find another way to make you a tough guy, a bad guy. Stop using me to do it. Unless you’re going to pay me, send me a check. I’ll be a part of your marketing strategy.”

Rivera also said he initially didn’t want to share a public reaction to the freestyle. “Even with the open letter, I wanted to do it privately,” he explained. “I don’t want to be… but he puts me out here in a sort of negative light, and right now it’s starting to become a little bit redundant.”

Un was founder and CEO of the labels Undeas and Untertainment, which signed artists like Lil Kim and Charli Baltimore. The stabbing occurred in December 1999 at the Kit Kat Club in New York at a release party for Q-Tip’s album Amplified. JAY-Z later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault in connection with the incident. He received three years of probation. 

The Roots Picnic was May 31 in Philadelphia. On Sunday (July 5), Hov continued his busy summer with an appearance at the World Cup with DJ Khaled to watch Brazil’s Vinícius Júnior, battle against Norway. 

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