Jay-Z's Roots Picnic freestyle includes lines fans interpret as a response to Tory Lanez and his father's claim that Roc Nation would "crumble."
During his scathing freestyle on Saturday (May 30), Hov rapped: "Public enemy number one, l've been ranked/The Roc's not crumblin, the leprechauns have magically run out of pranks/Your son on a federal jail line mumblin' somethin' about havin' too much in his drink/You know how dumb that is?”
For context: The "leprechaun" reference is a widely-understood nod to Lanez’ height at 5’ 3”, while the "pranks" line has been interpreted by some in the context of Lanez's previous efforts to challenge his conviction in the 2020 shooting of Megan Thee Stallion.
Legal affairs journalist Meghann Cuniff responded to the freestyle on X, writing: “He's gotta be talking about Tory Lanez but for the record it was a city jail line and not a federal one.”
In a separate tweet, Cuniff pointed to the phone call as cited in the California Court of Appeal's opinion affirming Lanez's conviction and 10-year sentence. That call, as described, involved Lanez and Megan’s former friend Kelsey Harris on the morning of the 2020 shooting while Lanez was in jail.
Per a transcript, Lanez said, in part, "I know she probably never ever gonna ever talk to me ever again, but bruh I just want you to know bruh, n***a I was just so fucking drunk … I never do some shit like that bruh … [Y]ou know regardless that’s not gonna make anything right, and that’s not gonna make my actions right bro, but I’m just deeply sorry bruh … So, like I feel crazy bruh, but made a mistake like, what happened, happened already bruh. I can’t take it back bruh … I’m just telling y’all I’m sorry bruh."
Megan Thee Stallion, who signed a management deal with Roc Nation in 2019, has been the subject of online commentary and social media conspiracy theories claiming the company influenced her legal dispute with Lanez, with some detractors, as reported by the Los Angeles Times, leaning into narratives like “Roc Nation paid the jury” rather than the evidence.
Following Lanez’s conviction in December 2022, Tory Lanez’s father, Sonstar Peterson, delivered a passionate speech outside of the courthouse.
“Jay-Z, let me speak to you ... because my son refused to sign a Roc Nation deal with you," he said, as seen in the video linked here. “Roc Nation, you will crumble. I am an apostle of God, and you will know who I am.”
Lanez, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, was found guilty on all three charges related to the July 2020 shooting involving Megan Thee Stallion after a Los Angeles jury verdict in 2022.
Prosecutors said the incident followed a house party at Kylie Jenner's Hollywood home, where an argument in an SUV escalated and Lanez allegedly fired a gun, injuring Megan's feet after she exited the vehicle. He was sentenced to 10 years in jail in August 2023.
During an on-camera prison interview with NBC News in December 2025, the rapper maintained his innocence, claiming he was “catapulted into this poster child for the unprotection of Black women.”
“I’ve never been violent towards a woman,” he said at the time. “I would never hit a woman, let alone shoot a woman.”
Jay-Z’s Roots Picnic freestyle on Saturday also seemingly targeted Drake and Ye, as well as Nicki Minaj and her husband Kenneth “Zoo” Petty. Hov also made a reference to Dame Dash, among others.
