Editing Jay-Z (section)

=== 1999 Lance "Un" Rivera stabbing ===
On December 2, 1999, Jay-Z, who had come to believe that record executive [[Lance Rivera|Lance "Un" Rivera]] was behind the bootlegging of ''Vol. 3...'', allegedly stabbed him at the Kit Kat Klub, a now-defunct night club in [[Times Square]], New York City, during a release party for [[Q-Tip (rapper)|Q-Tip]]'s album ''[[Amplified (Q-Tip album)|Amplified]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/jay-z-263-1383800|title=JAY-Z GETS THREE YEARS PROBATION|work=[[NME]]|date=December 7, 2001|access-date=October 9, 2023|archive-date=October 13, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231013051339/https://www.nme.com/news/music/jay-z-263-1383800|url-status=live}}</ref> Jay-Z's associates at the party were accused of causing a commotion within the club, which Jay-Z allegedly used as cover while he stabbed Rivera in the stomach with a {{Convert|5|in|spell=in|adj=on|0}} blade.<ref>Handlin, Sam. [http://www.courttv.com/archive/trials/jay-z/101701_ctv.html Jay-Z pleads guilty to stabbing record executive] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090109131938/http://www.courttv.com/archive/trials/jay-z/101701_ctv.html |date=January 9, 2009 }}. Courttv.com. October 18, 2001. Retrieved June 18, 2006.</ref> He surrendered to police the following evening and was placed under arrest, although he was soon released on $50,000 [[bail]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/03/nyregion/police-arrest-hip-hop-star-in-a-stabbing-at-a-nightclub.html|title=Police arrest hip-hop star in a stabbing at a nightclub|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=December 3, 1999|access-date=February 7, 2014|author=Juan Forero|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140309043308/http://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/03/nyregion/police-arrest-hip-hop-star-in-a-stabbing-at-a-nightclub.html|archive-date=March 9, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/01/nyregion/metro-news-briefs-new-york-rapper-is-indicted-in-nightclub-stabbing.html|title=Rapper is indicted in nightclub stabbing|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=February 1, 2000|access-date=February 7, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140309043251/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/01/nyregion/metro-news-briefs-new-york-rapper-is-indicted-in-nightclub-stabbing.html|archive-date=March 9, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> When he was indicted in [[Manhattan Criminal Court]] in late January 2000, he pleaded not guilty; he and his lawyers contended that they had witnesses and videotapes proving he had been nowhere near Rivera during the incident. Nevertheless, he later pleaded guilty to third-degree assault and accepted a three-year [[probation]] sentence.<ref name="guiltyplea">{{cite web|last=D'Angelo|first=Joe|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1450090/20011017/jay_z.jhtml|title=Jay-Z Pleads Guilty To Stabbing, Faces Three Years' Probation|access-date=June 25, 2009|date=October 17, 2001|publisher=MTV|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090710041009/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1450090/20011017/jay_z.jhtml|archive-date=July 10, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Jay-Z later addressed the case in his 2010 book ''Decoded'':

{{cquote|One night I went to Q-Tip's solo album release party and at some point in the night, I ran into the guy everyone's been telling me is behind the bootleg. So I approached him. When I told him what I suspected, to my surprise, he got real loud with me right there in the middle of the club. It was strange. We separated and I went over to the bar. I was sitting there like, "No the fuck this nigga did not..." I was talking to people, but I was really talking to myself out loud, just in a state of shock. Before I even realized what I was doing, I headed back over to him, but this time I was blacking out with anger. The next thing I knew, all hell had broken loose in the club. That night the guy went straight to the police and I was indicted. [...] There was no reason to put my life on the line, and the lives of everyone who depends on me, because of a momentary loss of control. [...] I vowed to never allow myself to be in a situation like that again.<ref>{{cite book|author=Jay-Z|title=Decoded|url={{Google books|l2i0F2kSwwUC|Decoded|page=162|plainurl=yes}}|page=162|year=2010|publisher=[[Spiegel & Grau]]}}</ref>}}

In 2023, Rivera stated that Jay-Z lied, and was not the one that stabbed him: "No. Jay-Z was not the guy that actually stabbed me that night (...) it's never been his history".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vibe.com/news/entertainment/lance-un-rivera-jay-z-stab-club-incident-1234758615/|title=Lance "Un" Rivera Confirms Jay-Z Didn't Stab Him During 1999 Club Incident|date=May 22, 2023|accessdate=January 21, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thefader.com/2023/05/22/lance-un-rivera-jay-z-did-not-stab-him|title=Lance "Un" Rivera says JAY-Z did not stab him during 1999 incident|website=The FADER|accessdate=January 21, 2024|archive-date=May 23, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523002836/https://www.thefader.com/2023/05/22/lance-un-rivera-jay-z-did-not-stab-him|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/jay-z-didnt-stab-lance-un-rivera-pleaded-guilty-2023-5|title=22 years after Jay-Z pleaded guilty to stabbing him, Lance 'Un' Rivera says the rapper is innocent|first=Barnaby|last=Lane|website=Business Insider|date=May 22, 2023|accessdate=January 21, 2024|archive-date=May 23, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523002833/https://www.businessinsider.com/jay-z-didnt-stab-lance-un-rivera-pleaded-guilty-2023-5|url-status=live}}</ref> Rapper Nas, who feuded with Jay-Z in the early 2000s, had also claimed in his 2001 diss track "[[Ether (song)|Ether]]" that Jay-Z was not Rivera's stabber. Rivera commented on this, stating, "The reality to it is Nas — and I don’t know why didn’t nobody believe him — on 'Ether' he talked about the incident. He let people know like, 'Yo, your man stabbed Un and you took the blame for it.'"<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bustard |first=Andy |date=May 21, 2023 |title=JAY-Z Not Responsible For 1999 Stabbing Of Lance 'Un' Rivera, Admits Rivera |url=https://hiphopdx.com/news/jay-z-lance-un-rivera-stabbing-not-responsible |access-date=December 26, 2024 |website=HipHopDX}}</ref>