Jay-Z strikes back at Cuba trip critics with new song ‘Open Letter’: Listen

Sounds like vacation is over for Jay-Z.

The rapper recently took a much-publicized trip to Cuba with his wife Beyonce, but it didn’t take long for him to churn out a new track — with a surprising subject matter. 

Several Florida republicans (including Senator Marco Rubio) weren’t too happy about music’s No. 1 power couple breaking the U.S.A.’s longstanding tourism restriction of the Caribbean island, but Jay-Z isn’t about to let their words keep him (and Bey) down. 

In just a matter of days, Jay recorded and released what can only be called a diss track entitled “Open Letter.”

Short, stripped down and to the point, there’s no mistaking to whom this “Letter” is addressed. And, to paraphrase an earlier Jay-Z track, he don’t need no hook for this sh*t.

“They wanna give me jail time and a fine/Fine/let me commit a real crime,” Jay-Z threat-raps, no doubt responding directly to Rubio and co.’s letter-wrting and Twitter campaigns decrying the duo’s Cuban vacation. 

Later, “I’m in Cuba/I love Cubans” is followed by the sound of Jigga taking a puff on a cigar, “Scarface”-style. 

In the song, Jay-Z claims he got “White House clearance” from his pal the president. He raps, “Obama said, ‘Chill you’re goinna get me impeached’/You don’t need this shit anyway/Chill with me on the beach.”

Earlier this week, the U.S. Treasury Department stated that the couple’s trip was indeed legit, having been previously authorized as an “educational and cultural exchange.”

However, just hours after the song was released today, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney addressed the issue, saying that, while Jay-Z indeed followed proper protocol, he didn”t communicate directly with President Obama. Carney added, hilariously, “I guess nothing rhymes with Treasury. Because Treasury gives licenses for travel and the White House has nothing to do with it.”

Hova also addresses the recent kerfuffle about the NBA team he co-owns, the Brooklyn Nets, saying “I would’ve moved the Nets to Brooklyn for free/Except I made millions off you f*cking dweebs/I still own the building/I’m still keeping my seats/You buy that bullshit/you’d better keep your receipts.”

It’s been a while since “dweeb” has been used with such venom, but somehow Jay-Z makes it work. 

Listen to “Open Letter” here:

What do you think of “Open Letter”? And Jay-Z and Beyonce’s trip to Cuba?
 

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