LISTEN: Jay-Z talks about controversial Cuba trip and Obama in new song (VIDEO)
A trip by the super celebrity couple Jay-Z and Beyonce to Havana, Cuba has stirred controversy among Republican lawmakers.
Jay-Z is responding to critics of his recent controversial trip to Cuba with, what else, a song.
The rapper posted “Open Letter" on his Life + Times blog Thursday morning.
Jay-Z and wife Beyonce recently traveled to Cuba to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary. Because Americans are officially barred from traveling to Cuba, the pair’s surprise vacation ignited a firestorm, including a Congressional investigation.
However, it turns out their trip was in fact authorized by the US Treasury Department, which grants travel permits.
Jay-Z addressed the controversy in the single, insinuating that President Barack Obama had given him permission:
“Politicians never did shit for me/ Except lie to me, distort history/ … Obama said, ‘Chill, you’re going to get me impeached’ / You don’t need this shit anyway, chill with me on the beach.” – Jay Z
During a White House briefing on Thursday, press secretary Jay Carney said Obama and the White House weren't involved in authorizing the trip. The president's name probably featured in Jay-Z's lyrics "because 'nothing rhymes with Treasury,'" Carney quipped.
Watch video of Carney's remarks: