Jay-Z Backs Kanye West’s Bush Comments

Jay-Z is standing behind Def Jam colleague Kanye West in the wake of the latter’s comments during Friday’s telethon to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina. “I’m backing Kanye 100%,” Jay-Z told Billboard by phone from London. “This is America. You should be able to say what you want to say. We have freedom of speech.” The rap mogul said of the slow response in recovery efforts following the disaster: “It’s really numbing. You can’t believe it’s happening in America. You wonder, what’s going on? Why were people so slow to react? I don’t understand it.”