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What people have to understand is ‘Billboard’ is a magazine. They’re like elected officials – they work for us.

Jay-Z

Everyone’s supposed to stay in their lines and be neat. ‘You’re a rapper. You’re supposed to rap, carry a boom box, wear chains, and go to the club – that’s all you do. What are you doing collecting art?
JAY-Z

Bottom Box Chain Everyone Line Neat Rapper Stay Suppose Wear
I was forced to be an artist and a CEO from the beginning, so I was forced to be like a businessman because when I was trying to get a record deal, it was so hard to get a record deal on my own that it was either give up or create my own company.
JAY-Z

Artist Beginning Businessman CEO Force Record Try
Nothing me and Kanye can do musically was gonna match the event of what we were trying to do. So we were trying to deliver an album and experience at one time; that was the idea for ‘Watch The Throne’.
JAY-Z

Album Country Deliver Do Event Experience Gonna Ide Match Musically Nothing People Try
You can feel when something’s authentic, and you can feel when it’s not: you know when someone’s trying to make the club record, or trying to make the girl record, or trying to make the thug record. It’s none of that. It’s just my emotions.
JAY-Z

Authentic Club Emotion Feel Girl Make None Record Someone Something Try
I got love for Damon Dash as I did before. I don’t know if we can be around each other in that way because times have changed. He may be a totally different person.
JAY-Z

Around Before Change Country Each Other Love People Person
I was a really good student. In the sixth grade, I was reading at a twelfth grade reading level. But I got bored.
JAY-Z

Bore Good Grade Raed Really Six Student Twentieth
Obama provides hope. Whether he does anything, the hope that he provides for a nation and outside of America is enough. Just being who he is. You’re the first black president. If he speaks on any issue or anything, he should be left alone.
JAY-Z

Anything Country Does Enough Hope Man Nation Outside President Provide
Companies that pretend to care about music and really care about other things – whether it be hardware, whether it be advertising – and now they look at music as a loss leader. And we know music isn’t a loss leader; music is an important part of our lives.
JAY-Z

Advertise Care Company Hardware Music Other Pretend Relly Thing
It was a very intense and stressful situation. There was playing in the Johnny-pump (an opened fire hydrant) and the ice-cream man coming around and all of these games that we’d play, and suddenly it would turn just violent and there would be shootings at 12 in the afternoon on any given day.
JAY-Z

Come Country Cream Fire Hydrant Ice Intense Man Open People Play Pump Situation Stressful Very
Around 20. I’d been trying to transition from the streets to the music business, but I would make demos and then quit for six months. And I started to realize that I couldn’t be successful until I let the street life go.
JAY-Z

Around Been Business Demos Make Month Music Quit Six Street Transition Twenty
When I came into the music, I was forced to be a CEO. I was forced to be an entrepreneur; I was forced to… because I was looking for a deal. I didn’t have this grand scheme of starting a record company and then morphing into a clothing empire.
JAY-Z

CEO Clothing Company Empire Entrepreneur Force Grand Look Morphing Music Record Scheme Starting
As kids, we didn’t complain about being poor; we talked about how rich we were going to be and made moves to get the lifestyle we aspired to by any means we could.
JAY-Z

Aspire Complain Kid Lifestyle Made Mean Move Poor Rich
I have inherited two of the most important brands in hip-hop, Def Jam and Roc-A-Fella. Reid and Universal Music Group have given me the opportunity to manage the companies I have contributed to my whole career. I feel this is a giant step for me and the entire artist community.
JAY-Z

Brand Company Group Hip Hop Important Inherited Manage Most Music Opportunity Rapid Universal
Hip-hop has done so much for racial relations, and I don’t think it’s given the proper credit. It has changed America immensely.
JAY-Z

Change Country Credit Done Givenm Proper Hip Hop Immensely Much Racial Relation Think
I don’t profess to be a political rapper, like groups such as ‘Dead Prez’ or ‘Public Enemy’, but I think social commentary should make its way into your music. Speaking on your neighbourhood is social commentary – what happens, what’s going on.
JAY-Z

Commentary Enemy Group Make Political Profess Public Rapper Social Such Way
Just strengthening that theme that America is a place of opportunity and hoping to inspire people to fulfill those opportunities, and to want more, and to want better, and to see the places we can go. So many people identify with me because of the place that I come from.
JAY-Z

Country Fulfill Hope Inspire Just More Opportunity People Place Strengthening Theme Want
I don’t think any rapper can go back. You can be a car salesman, a bank teller – I mean, really good jobs, and people are still gonna look at you and be like, ‘You used to rap; what happened?’
JAY-Z

Any Back Bank Good Job Look People Rapper Teller Think
The challenge is to get everyone to respect music again, to recognize its value.
JAY-Z

Again Challenge Everyone Respect Music Recognize Value
When you’re accustomed to wealth, you don’t show it, right? That’s why the white kids in school could wear bummy sneakers; it’s almost like, ‘Don’t show wealth – that’s crass.’
JAY-Z

Accustomed Bummy Kid Right School Show Speaker Wealth Wear
The experiences that I’ve had growing up with music, you know, I couldn’t trade them for any money in the world. Dancing in the living room to enjoy myself. ‘Enjoy Yourself,’ Michael Jackson.
JAY-Z

Experience Grow Know Money Music Trade World
I think the problem with people, as they start to mature, they say, ‘Rap is a young man’s game,’ and they keep trying to make young songs. But you don’t know the slang – it changes every day, and you’re just visiting. So you’re trying to be something you’re not, and the audience doesn’t buy into that.
JAY-Z

Game Kemp Try Make Man People Problem Song Think Young
I collect art, and I drink wine… things that I like that I had never been exposed to. But I never said, ‘I’m going to buy art to impress this crowd.’ That’s just ridiculous to me. I don’t live my life like that, because how could you be happy with yourself?
JAY-Z

Art Been Buy Collect Crowd Drink Expose Impress never Said Thing Wine
It was a weird mix of emotions. One day, your best friend could be killed. The day before, you could be celebrating him getting a brand-new bike.
JAY-Z

Best Brand Celebrating Day Emotion Friend Getting One Weird
I’ve talked to Bill Clinton – he’s the ultimate rock star; no one’s more charming than him. People clap in a restaurant when he finishes dinner! I don’t get that treatment. I get it when I walk onstage, but not when I have dinner.
JAY-Z

Charming Fun More Person President Rock Star Talk Ultimate
I think reviews have lost a lot of their importance now because of the Internet; everyone is experiencing things at the same time.
JAY-Z

Everone Experience Importance Internet Lot Review Same Time
Successful people have a bigger fear of failure than people who’ve never done anything because if you haven’t been successful, then you don’t know how it feels to lose it all.
JAY-Z

Anything Bigger Done Failure Fear never People Success Successful
If just the presence of Tidal causes other companies to have better pay structure or to pay more attention to it moving forward, then we’ve been successful in one way. So we don’t really view them as competitors. As the tide rises, all the boats rise.
JAY-Z

Attention Better Cause Company Forward More Move Pay Presence Structure Ther Tidal

What people have to understand is ‘Billboard’ is a magazine. They’re like elected officials – they work for us.

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What people have to understand is ‘Billboard’ is a magazine. They’re like elected officials – they work for us.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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