Rapper claims Jay-Z betrayed Beanie Sigel
A former Roc-a-Fella artist, Oschino, has spoken out about Jay-Z and has claimed that the Brooklyn legend turned his back on Philadelphia emcee Beanie Sigel after he got embroiled in an attempted murder case in the mid-2000s.
During an appearance on the Say Cheese podcast, Oschino (real name Kenneth Johnson) expressed his disappointment in his former label boss for failing to stand by his artist during the trial.
Johnson insisted that he stood by Sigel the entire time and supported him during court but explained that Jay-Z was prepared to see Sigel go to jail as long as it didn’t affect him.
Vividly recalling one of Sigel’s court appearances, Oschino unveiled, “I came to court for Beanie when he allegedly shot somebody. Jay-Z got on the stand, and they said, ‘Are you gonna be responsible for him if we let him go?’ but Jay said, ‘No.'”
Johnson expressed his confusion as to why Jay-Z came to court only to reveal that he wasn’t prepared to stand by his artist, reflecting, “I was just thinking, ‘What did he come to court for then?’ If I got a homie and all I gotta say is, ‘I’m responsible for him for him to get out,’ I’m saying it every time!”
Oschino insisted that he was shocked by the reaction of the courtroom and Jay-Z’s crew and revealed that he didn’t consider Jay’s actions as normal for someone supposedly from the streets. Explaining this, he detailed, “Nobody didn’t say nothing. Nobody flinched. Mind you, I’m a jail n*gga, so I’m looking around like, ‘Nobody not saying nothing?!'”
He continued, “[They reacted] like it was normal. Maybe I’m too street in my thinking, and maybe he was being more responsible, but I was thinking, ‘Man, these boys is different.'”
Beanie was eventually acquitted of all charges in 2005. However, he parted ways with Jay-Z shortly after and their friendship was never the same after.
You can hear Oschino speaking about the Brooklyn icon in the video below.