Saul Williams recently took to Instagram and shared an old clip from an interview where he spoke candidly on Jay-Z and called out a lyric from the ‘Black Album’ where he says “Well, I couldn’t help poor people if I was poor.” In the clip, Williams broke down that point, saying, “The majority of our elders and people that have helped us over time have not been able to help us because they had money. They helped us because they had vision and a desire to do so."

After that, Jay-Z reportedly got word of the clip and responded directly to Williams via email, which Williams posted on his IG. The portion of the email shown says, “It’s not the same war that Harriet Tubman was fighting. If I used the same 'weapons' as them I would be shooting a musket at people with fully automatic assault rifles. Although I think it's a must, we challenge each other, we should be careful that it doesn't come off as judgment.

Williams responded on the IG post by saying, “I wouldn't characterize our fight for economic freedom as 'new.’ There have been wealthy black Americans in every generation since the 1600's, and in Africa since forever. During segregation accumulated black wealth and black-owned business were at a peak. Black newspapers, magazines, schools, record labels... Yet psychological freedom from hard taught capitalism is hard to earn. African billionaires, for example, have brought little relief to the continent of Africa. The seduction of power and the systemic constraints of white supremacy will take more than money to burn."