Charlotte Hornets

Kanye West apologizes to Michael Jordan over Jumpman diss in 'Facts'

Published Feb. 9, 2016 7:40 p.m. ET

Jovan Buha

Does jumping over the Jumpman count if you apologize afterward?

Rapper/producer/fashion icon/demigod Kanye West took to Twitter on Tuesday to apologize to NBA legend and Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan and clear the air over his lyrics in the song, "Facts" (NSFW), which West released on Dec. 31:

In the song, West takes numerous shots at Nike, his former business partner. West left Nike for Adidas in 2013 and apparently still has beef with Nike CEO Mark Parker over how the partnership ended.

Jordan Brand is a subsidiary of Nike, and West decided to diss both. West raps:

Yeezy, Yeezy, Yeezy just jumped over Jumpman

This isn't the first time West has suggested that his Yeezy sneakers are more popular than Jordan's, rapping similar lyrics on his 2012 single "New God Flow":

Hold up, I ain't trying to stunt, man/But the Yeezys jumped over the Jumpman

Though whether this comes before or after Michael Jordan's diss of West is unclear:

pic.twitter.com/oM2GnAdgGc
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) February 10, 2016

Air Jordans are quite possibly the most famous, successful and coveted sneakers of all time. Yeezys have been more hyped over the last half-decade, in part because they are so exclusive (and eventually, so expensive). Anything West touches in the fashion industry turns to gold, though, and it's not surprising that he's been just as successful at Adidas as he was at Nike.

With All-Star Weekend coming up, Jordan Brand is putting out several high-profile releases -- black OVO Air Jordan 10s and white/cement Air Jordan 4s are the highlights -- which will (somewhat) compete with West's pirate black Yeezy Boost 350, which restocks almost a week later on Feb. 19.

It'll be interesting to see which release is more hyped and how quickly each shoe sells out.

West, a Chicago native who grew up a fan of the Bulls and Jordan (and his sneakers), has had to do some damage control since the song dropped, clearing up his relationship with LeBron James in particular.