Put your pitchforks down because Jermaine Dupri insists Jay-Z didn’t screw him out of a deal with the NFL.

Many thought Jay-Z double-crossed Dupri because producer Bryan-Michael Cox claimed Dupri told him Hov talked him out of signing a deal with the league.

“It’s the same program. When we all had that meeting with the NFL, it was the exact same,” Cox recounted to Loola TV. “The only difference is what Jay-Z is doing is he’s doing the actual Super Bowl halftime.”

Hip-hop legend Funkmaster Flex gave the rumor legs when he claimed Dupri confirmed Cox’s account during a phone call.

I JUST GOT OFF THE PHONE WITH JERMAINE DUPRI… HE CONFIRMED THAT WHEN HE WAS WORKING WITH THE NFL LAST YEAR HE DID GET A CALL FROM JAYZ ASKING HIM.. “HOW DEEP ARE U IN WITH THE NFL?” EXPRESSING… “THAT MIGHT NOT BE A GOOD IDEA”

FUNKFLEX

— Funk Flex !!!!! (@funkflex) August 19, 2019

“I just got off the phone with Jermaine Dupri,” Flex tweeted. “He confirmed that when he was working with the NFL last year he did get a call from [Jay-Z] asking him…‘How deep are u in with the NFL?’ expressing… ‘that might not be a good idea.’”

The So So Def boss cleared the air during an interview with V-103 in Atlanta, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Cox was sitting next to him while he explained the situation.

“I’m speaking and letting the people know, he and I never had a conversation where he told me ‘don’t do what you’re doing,'” Dupri said. “What our conversation was ‘you know what side I’m on, I understand what you’re doing.’ That’s what the conversation was.”

Dupri actually got a bag during the Super Bowl because he was responsible for the free concerts in Centennial Olympic Park during this year’s festivities in Atlanta. Like Jay-Z, he too was criticized for associating with the NFL.

“I was in a bleep storm. I was standing in the middle of a storm, and I was hit in every possible direction that you can be hit,” he said.

Still, he doesn’t regret curating the event, as it was helpful for artists who weren’t able to do a halftime show.

“Even during my press, I kept having to reiterate the fact that ‘guys, I’m not doing Super Bowl. I’m doing shows in Centennial Olympic Park,’” he continued. “I gave artists that don’t get an opportunity to perform Super Bowl halftime an opportunity and platform.”

Dupri was also happy the shows were accessible to financially challenged people.

“It’s kids out here that don’t have money to go to a concert. I had 70,000 people in Centennial Olympic Park. I don’t really care about nothing else. I did my job,” Dupri said. “You can’t change anything unless you get involved.”

Jay-Z has been in a s**tstorm of his own since he announced Roc Nation is partnering with the NFL to curate entertainment for the Super Bowl and other events. Critics of the deal believe he is selling out since he has been a vocal supporter of Colin Kaepernick. During a press conference announcing the deal, Jay-Z told reporters the deal is an extension of Kaepernick’s efforts.

"I think that we forget that Colin’s whole thing was to bring attention to social injustice, correct? So in that case, this is a success — this is the next thing,” Jay-Z said. “There’s two parts of protest: the protest, and then there’s a company or individual saying ‘I hear you, what do we do next?’ For me it’s about actionable items, what are we going to do with it?"

Bryan-Michael-Cox

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