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My first album was mainly dealing with street issues, and it was ‘coded’: it was called ‘Reasonable Doubt.’ So the things I was talking about…

Jay-Z

Wherever I go, I bring the culture with me, so that they can understand that it’s attainable. I didn’t do it any other way than through hip-hop.
JAY-Z

Attainable Bring Culture Go Hip Hop Through Understand
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
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’m just saying the producers and people who work on music are getting left out – that’s when it starts getting criminal. It’s like you’re working hard, and you’re not receiving. In any other business, people would be standing before Congress. They have antitrust laws against this kind of behavior.
JAY-Z

Accomplish Criminal Get Left Lost Out People Produce Say Start Transition When Work
I am against discrimination of any kind, but if I make snap judgments, no matter who it’s towards, aren’t I committing the same sin as someone who profiles?
JAY-Z

Against Community Discrimination Judgement Kind Make Matter Same Sin Snap Someone Toward
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
As an artist, you make music. And if you see people who don’t know how to market your music, you get involved in it. Otherwise, what you want to accomplish ‘gets lost in translation’ – no pun intended.
JAY-Z

Artist Intend Involved Make Market Music People See Translate
We were living in a tough situation, but my mother managed; she juggled. Sometimes we’d pay the light bill, sometimes we paid the phone, sometimes the gas went off.
JAY-Z

Juggled Live Manage Mother She Situation Tough
Shakespeare was a man who wrote poetry. I’m a man who writes poetry. Why not compare yourself to the best?
JAY-Z

Best Compare Man Poetry Shakespeare Write Wrote Yourself
The challenge is to get everyone to respect music again, to recognize its value.
JAY-Z

Again Challenge Everyone Respect Music Recognize Value
I’m just making an observation. They’re crying out for the love that maybe they didn’t get at home, and they got everything.
JAY-Z

Cry Everything Home Love Make Maybe Obsevative
One of the reasons inequality gets so deep in this country is that everyone wants to be rich. That’s the American ideal.
JAY-Z

Country Deep Everyone Get Ideal Inequality One Reason Rich Want
That’s why this generation is the least racist generation ever. You see it all the time. Go to any club.
JAY-Z

Any Club Ever Generation Go Least Racist Time
You don’t have that fear. So why do you think people get stuck in those boxes? It’s that fear of going back down.
JAY-Z

Back Boz Down Fear People Stuck Think
New York – I’m connected. This is my core. I feel like if I’m not connected to New York, then I don’t even know what to do with myself.
JAY-Z

Connect Core Country Even Feel Know Like Myself
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
What are you talking about? Wait a minute, you’re getting out of the zone.’ People hate when people cross lines.
JAY-Z

Bore Get Level Minute Out Read Talk Zone
I’ve said the election of Obama has made the hustler less relevant. People took it in a way that I was almost dismissing what I am. And I was like, ‘No, it’s a good thing!’
JAY-Z

Country Election Hustler President Relevant Said
Everyone who makes music is a good collaborator at their foundation because in order to make music, you have to connect to it in a way that other people can’t.
JAY-Z

Collaborator Everyone Foundation Good Make Music Other
I was talking about in slang, and it was something that people in the music business was not really privy to. They didn’t understand totally what I was saying or what I was talking about.
JAY-Z

Business Music People Privy Say Slang Sometimes Talk Totally Understand
I think relationships are broken up because of the media.
JAY-Z

Broken Media Relationship
We have to stretch out the audience. It can’t be this narrow – we have to stretch out the point of view.
JAY-Z

Audience Narrow Out Point Stretch View
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
People really feel like music is free but will pay $6 for water. You can drink water free out of the tap, and it’s good water. But they’re OK paying for it.
JAY-Z

Feel Like Music Pay People Realy Water
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
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 came into this music business at 26 years old. I was a fully developed man at that point. At that age, I didn’t have anything to prove.
JAY-Z

Age Anything Busines Develop Fully Man Music Old Point Prove Six Twenty Year

My first album was mainly dealing with street issues, and it was ‘coded’: it was called ‘Reasonable Doubt.’ So the things I was talking about…

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My first album was mainly dealing with street issues, and it was ‘coded’: it was called ‘Reasonable Doubt.’ So the things I was talking about…

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Popular Authors

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