Years Before Bitter Fallout, Jay Z Called Himself the “Jeff Gordon of Rap” on Kanye West’s Debut Smash Hit

Rapper Kanye West has recently landed himself in hot water for some rather controversial remarks. Despite all of that, he is still a successful artist. It is also worth mentioning that he has collaborated with several other artists, one of them is fellow rapper, Jay-Z. Back in 2004, the two of them collaborated for a song called ‘Never Let Me Down’. In that song, Hendrick Motorsports legend Jeff Gordon was casually name-dropped.

The lyric went, ‘It’s Hov tradition, Jeff Gordon of rap. I’m back to claim pole position, holla at ya boy‘. At the time, Gordon was hugely successful in his career and steadily establishing himself. Jay-Z was already at the top of his game, so he figured that the comparison was appropriate.

West and Jay-Z were friends for a long time, as evidenced by their frequent collaborations. However, their friendship did not last, and they soon had a bitter fallout. As it turned out, it was the result of a series of events from both sides, that eventually chipped away at their friendship.

READ MORE: NASCAR Driver Set to Join Hendrick Motorsports Legend Jeff Gordon and his Ex Rival Dale Earnhardt in Rare List on Sunday

How has Jeff Gordon performed in his NASCAR career?

Safe to say, Gordon has been incredibly successful, with four Cup titles under his belt. The 51-year-old also has an incredible 93 wins in the Cup Series, 477 Top ten finishes, and 81 pole positions. Furthermore, he competed in 805 Cup Series races over the course of 25 years. He even has the most consecutive Cup Series appearances, with 797 starts spanning from 1992 all the way to 2015.

Considering that he finished 3rd in his final full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series, he retired at the top of his game. To make matters even better, his last win came in 2015 itself, which was at Martinsville. In 2016, he did return to racing, but as an injury substitute for Dale Earnhardt Jr, who sat out with a concussion.