Michael Eric Dyson Apologizes to JAY-Z: “That Should’ve Remained Between Us”
The acclaimed author shared that the rap mogul disagreed with his take on Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake.
Dr. Michael Eric Dyson and Jay-Z attend Sprite's 3rd Annual Jay-Z And Lebron James "Two Kings" Dinner & After Party.
Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage.
Michael Eric Dyson is apologizing to JAY-Z after he publicly shared details from a communication between the two men. The controversy began last month when Dyson criticized Kendrick Lamar for what he felt was Lamar’s attempts to “de-Black” Drake during their highly-publicized feud. He later revealed that JAY disagreed with his take in a conversation.
“[Jay] hit me up and vigorously disagreed with my particular position,” Dyson explained in a video on Instagram. “He said it with dignity. He said it with respect… I responded to him. We went back and forth for a minute.
“What I love about JAY is that he’s not arrogant,” Dyson continued. “He’s got more reason to be arrogant than anybody we’re talking to, including myself, on this darn internet and social media. And yet he chose to be gracious, vigorous, clear and transparent about his disagreement. But he did not get nasty and vicious with me.”
After reflecting, Dyson shared that he felt he was wrong to publicly comment on what JAY said to him privately.
"I remember once when Kanye [West] posted publicly a text exchange between us," the author said. "It was private. And I was hurt by that. I'm thinking about that because I've done the same thing to JAY-Z. No, I didn't publicly post a text. But I talked about a private exchange between us that should've remained between us, as it has for the last 20-some-odd years. So I want to apologize to him here.”
In his earlier commentary, Dyson said Drake shouldn’t have to “prove” his Blackness.
“His daddy is Black. He went to Memphis every summer. The Memphis Horns fill his music, the first albums Drake made. His grandmama babysat Aretha Franklin, and his uncle is Larry Graham from Sly the Family Stone,” Dyson stated. “What Black card he got to show?”
As far as the issue with JAY, Dyson says he’s publicly apologizing because he put Jay’s words out there on a public forum.
“Why am I doing it here and not to him directly? Because the old Black people said, 'Where you get it is where you get it. Where you messed up is where you fess up.' And that's what I'm doing here,” explained Dyson, who also said he mischaracterized what HOV texted, failing to indicate that JAY had also said that the whole thing “ain’t that serious.”
