‘Betrayal Is Jay-Z’s M.O.’: Jay-Z’s Ex-Best Friend Who Took a Bullet for Him Recalls the ‘Sucker Sh-t’ Rapper Pulled Amid Long List of Betrayals
DeHaven Irby, a former drug dealer and ex-best friend of Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, is shelling out details about his time with the budding rapper coming up in Brooklyn’s Marcy Houses projects and what led to the demise of their friendship.
Irby and Carter grew up in the same building, where they met as sixth graders and became close. Irby previously has proclaimed that his life as a drug dealer inspired much of Jay-Z’s raps, even claiming that although he taught Jay-Z how to “nickel and dime,” he was the one who did all the work and focused on keeping the future-Roc-A-Fella frontman out of the streets. DeHaven and Jay-Z shared clothes, money, and women. Irby even made Jay-Z his daughter’s godfather. Everything seemed great until, according to Irby, who is now 55 years old, things between him and his former friend soured when Irby was indicted on federal drug conspiracy charges in 1998.
“During my trial, [he looked] at me in my face telling me, ‘Yo, don’t worry about it, bro. I got you.’ And I never see him again,” DeHaven recalled in an interview with RealLyfe Productions. “When I come to you and say, ‘Look, I don’t need nothing but help to get out of this. … You say, ‘Relax. Don’t worry about it. I got you.’ And I never see you again? I think that might have been the worst.”
The New York native described this moment as the first “sucker s–t” he experienced with the Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder.
Jay-Z partnered with Damon Dash and Kareem “Biggs” Burke to launch Roc-A-Fella Records in 1994. The company released several Jay albums, such as 1996’s “Reasonable Doubt” and 1998’s “Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life.”
Despite having a long history with Jay, DeHaven did not join the rapper in his new music business endeavor. Their paths apparently went separate ways while DeHaven went up against the federal government in court.
When asked to describe Jay, DeHaven labeled him as a “coward” and “cold-hearted.”
According to DeHaven, the judge in his criminal trial dismissed the case in 2000. Being able to walk away from federal prosecution without a conviction did not mend the chasm between him and Jay-Z.
“We had issues. But not issues that equate to him treating me like this,” DeHaven said in his interview uploaded on Nov. 8. “You’re mad at me for what? We could talk it out or something.”
Jay-Z has addressed the situation with DeHaven in his music, essentially accusing him of assisting the feds on “No Hook” off 2007’s “American Gangster” studio LP.
“So f— DeHaven for caving, that’s why we don’t speak. Made men ain’t supposed to make statements. End of the story, I followed the code, cracked the safe. Other n—– ain’t in the game so they practice hate,” Jay stated on the track.
In a 2007 interview with Vulture, DeHaven addressed the “No Hook” lyrics, stating that he did not believe Jay Z was calling him a snitch but still took offense to the rapper’s approach.
“I think he’s talking about the way I went about this YouTube project [and not about snitching],” said Irby. “But he’s into subliminal messages, so [I think] he’s trying to get me hurt. That goes beyond disrespect. He’s getting my safety involved. I can’t believe my own daughter’s godfather is trying to get me hurt. But it won’t work. Being that I’ve been in prison a lot of times, a lot of people know my credibility. They know I went all the way to trial with my federal case, and I won.”
Jay-Z also allegedly had something to say about DeHaven on Drake’s 2021 “Certified Lover Boy” album. The song “Love All” contains lyrics that many rap listeners believe are aimed at Jay’s former associate.
“N—– wanted to kill me and y’all still with ’em. N—-, y’all chill with ’em, and y’all wonder why we not friends? Best thing I can do is not build with you. When I could destroy you, that takes some f——- discipline,” Jay rapped.
DeHaven also believes he was the target of Jay-Z’s diss on the “Love All” record. The admitted former crack cocaine dealer broke down his interpretation of the bars.
“He said on Drake’s album, he spoke about an incident with someone I know put him in fear for his life. And he said, ‘You still chill with him. How could I deal with you?’” DeHaven explained in his recent interview.
He added, “My man saw you stealing from him. He saw you, red-handed. You’re lucky he didn’t kill you. You know why he didn’t kill you? Because he got love for me.”
Additionally, DeHaven referenced Jay-Z’s 1996 single “Dead Presidents II,” where the then-industry newcomer rapped, “Hospital days, reflectin’ when my man laid up. On the Uptown hot block, he got his side sprayed up.”
DeHaven said those “Dead Presidents II” lyrics were about him, as well. He used that “Reasonable Doubt” track to support his claim that Jay-Z did not have “street situations” because of DeHaven’s underworld connections.
“I really got shot for him,” DeHaven disclosed, referencing an incident in which he was shot during a drug deal gone bad.
Late one night, DeHaven and Jay Z went uptown to pick up drugs from a dealer. As they were leaving, the duo were ambushed by gunmen. As DeHaven distracted the gunman long enough for Jay to escape to safety, he was shot in the side.
After being asked if he would take that bullet for his self-described “little brother” again, Jay’s former drug-dealing colleague replied, “Yeah, because that’s just who I am.”
DeHaven has long maintained that his fallout with Jay Z stemmed from a sort of misunderstanding. In his 2007 Vulture interview, he stated, “We never really had a falling-out. That’s the problem. This is why I’m so confused. There was no argument. There was none of that. I don’t want an apology [from him]. I want a reason. What happened? When my case [a federal drug conspiracy charge] came in 1998, I never seen him again too much anymore. The case had nothing to do with him. His name never came up, so I’d like to ask him, ‘What happened? Where did his departure come from?’”
RealLyfe Productions’ 11-minute video segment ended with DeHaven agreeing with the interviewer who asked if betrayal is Jay-Z’s modus operandi. He concluded, “There’s a slew of people who he ended their careers.”