Justin Timberlake has been doing a little damage control after his Kanye West dig on Saturday Night Live .
Returning to the SNL stage for a milestone fifth time this weekend as host and musical guest, Timberlake swapped in a line during his rendition of “Suit Tie” that directly answered West’s somewhat blatant diss of the comeback singer.
To recap; West went ever so slightly postal at one of his gigs in London , during which he said “I got love for Hov but I ain’t f***ing with that ‘Suit Tie.’”
Timberlake, who had said nothing yet about the diss (publicly at least), chose to rectify that on SNL . After delivering a kick-ass first half of “Suit Tie” backed by the Tennessee Kids big band, while rapper Jay-Z waited in the wings — it was the second verse that unveiled the West money shot.
Original line: “And aw, sh** so sick, got a hit and picked up a habit,” was neatly changed to “My hit’s so sick, got rappers acting dramatic.”
An unmistakable hit on West, Timberlake’s lyrical dig has had everyone talking ever since. But it seems he isn’t looking to get embroiled in a huge feud with Mr. College Dropout, something Timberlake made abundantly clear on last night’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon .
Timberlake downplayed the media hype over his West-SNL moment during the interview with Fallon, saying:
“For the record, I absolutely love Kanye. So there’s that” adding, “you know, really, everyone: keep calm. Keep calm.”
Timberlake, who has just released his The 20/20 Experience — his first album after a six year hiatus — is due to hit the road with Jay-Z in their Legends of the Summer stadium tour. The highly anticipated double act lift off at The Roger’s Centre on July 17th, finishing in Miami at Sun Life Stadium on August 16.
West, support act? I absolutely did not just say that.