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Raekwon is putting all the conspiracy theories about his latest collaboration with Nas to rest after fans alleged the Queensbridge rapper fired shots at Jim Jones.
On Monday night, July 16, The Chef hosted an Instagram Live session to answer questions about his new album The Emperor's New Clothes. At one point, Rae faced questions about an alternate verse Nas recorded for their song "The Omerta," which leaked online over the weekend. Despite the tension between Nasir and Jim, the Wu-Tang Clan rapper said Mass Appeal founder wrote the verse months before Jones started their beef, but scrapped it to avoid any misconceptions.
"Nas did not write that verse for Jim. That was a stray shot Jim got hit with," Rae said. "Y'all made it seem like it was for Jim. Nas wasn't dissing Jim. He wasn't dissing him. And the reason why he changed it? Because he knew that at the end of the day, 'damn Chef I gave you this verse months ago, and now all this s**t is popping up.'"
Raekwon explained that Nas is not focused on getting caught up in the drama Jones concocted a few weeks ago. He said Nas personally hit him up and told him he would deliver a fresh verse just so that fans wouldn't think he's firing shots at Jones.
"This is real s**t. I don't gotta lie to y'all," Raekwon said. "I promise y'all he wasn't dissing Jim. This ain't no diss record. And if it was a diss record, why would he put it on my record? 'Cause guess what? I f**k with Jim. He know I f**k with Jim."
The drama started last month when Jones sat down with Fat Joe and Jadakiss for an episode of their podcast Joe & Jada. During their conversation, Joe brought up a video of a younger fan saying that he was more inspired by Jones than Nas. Jones began his response by emphasizing the Queens legend's impact on his own life and career. However, Jones ultimately argued that the new generation doesn't really know who Nas is the way they know him and his music.
"As I got in the game, you gotta realize, your idols become rivals,” Jones said. “Not to take away anything from that. I developed my own style and my own lane that these kids started to gravitate towards to, the same way I gravitated towards Nas when I younger.”
Listen to both versions of "The Omerta" below.