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The burden of poverty isn’t just that you don’t always have the things you need: it’s the feeling of being embarrassed every day of your life, and you’d do anything to lift that burden.

Jay-Z

I learned to ride a ten-speed when I was 4 or 5. My uncle gave me the bike, hand-me-down, and everyone used to stare at me riding up and down this block. I was too short to reach the pedals, so I put my legs through the V of the frame. I was famous. The little kid who could ride the ten-speed.
JAY-Z

Bike Down Everyone Five Four Hand Learn Ride Speed Stare Ten Uncle Use
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
People wanted to make products based on our child’s name, and you don’t want anybody trying to benefit off your baby’s name.
JAY-Z

Anybody Baby Benefit Child Make Name People Want Product Try Want
I can think of no one more relevant and credible in the hip-hop community to build upon Def Jam’s fantastic legacy and move the company into its next groundbreaking era.
JAY-Z

Build Community Credibility Hip Hop More Relevant Think Upon
If your dad died before you were born, yeah, it hurts – but it’s not like you had a connection with something that was real. Not to say it’s any better – but to have that connection and then have it ripped away was, like, the worst.
JAY-Z

Away Better Born Connection Die Like Real Reap Something Yeah
Rosa Parks sat so Martin Luther King could walk. Martin Luther King walked so Obama could run. Obama’s running so we all can fly.
JAY-Z

Country Fly People Person President Run Walk
I’m a mirror. If you’re cool with me, I’m cool with you, and the exchange starts. What you see is what you reflect. If you don’t like what you see, then you’ve done something. If I’m standoffish, that’s because you are.
JAY-Z

Cool exchange Mirror Reflect See Sometimes Start
I’ll make a song with Rick Rubin, a song with Beyonce, a song with Lenny Kravitz. I just believe in making good music. I’m not trying to section myself off into just making hard-core rap music.
JAY-Z

Country Involve Make Market Music People Person Song
No one came to our neighborhoods with stand-up jobs and showed us there’s a different way. Maybe, had I seen different role models, maybe I’d’ve turned on to that.
JAY-Z

Came Different Job Neighbourhood Our Show Stand Way
The challenge is to get everyone to respect music again, to recognize its value.
JAY-Z

Again Challenge Everyone Respect Music Recognize Value
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
I think that’s what happened to the record business when ‘Napster’ came around. The industry rejected what was happening instead of accepting it as change.
JAY-Z

Accept Business Change Happen Industry Instead Record Reject Think
Excellence is being able to perform at a high level over and over again. You can hit a half-court shot once. That’s just the luck of the draw. If you consistently do it… that’s excellence.
JAY-Z

Again Being Count Excellence Half Hit Once Over Performance Shot
I feel like with the history of this platform, from vinyl to where we are now, it just seems like the next logical step.
JAY-Z

Feel History Like Logical Next Now Platform Step Vinyl
I’ve always wanted to stay true to myself, and I’ve managed to do that. People have to accept that.
JAY-Z

Accept Always Manage Myself People Stay Want
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

The burden of poverty isn’t just that you don’t always have the things you need: it’s the feeling of being embarrassed every day of your life, and you’d do anything to lift that burden.

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Popular Authors

The burden of poverty isn’t just that you don’t always have the things you need: it’s the feeling of being embarrassed every day of your life, and you’d do anything to lift that burden.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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