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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

I grew up in Marcy Projects in Brooklyn, and my mom and pop had an extensive record collection, so Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder and all of those sounds and souls of Motown filled the house.
JAY-Z

Celebrity Collection Country Extensive Grew Mom People Person Pop Project Record
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
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
I love what I do, and when you love what you do, you want to be the best at it.
JAY-Z

Best Love Want When
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
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
I’m going to make a very bold statement: Hip-hop has done more than any leader, politician, or anyone to improve race relations.
JAY-Z

Anyone Bold Hip Hop Improve Leader Make Politician Race Relation Statement Very
When you have a reputation for making not only good songs but great albums, that in itself creates added artistic pressure. But, at the end of the day, I guess that pressure is something I welcome.
JAY-Z

Album Artistic Create End Good Great Guess Make Only Pressure Reputation Something Song
I treat people based on who they really are, not the name. Everyone has to be respectful and be a human being. No one’s above… That’s how I carry it with anybody.
JAY-Z

Everyone Human Being Name People Really Respectful Treat
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
Music is everywhere – you consume it every day, everywhere you go. The content creator should be compensated. It’s only fair.
JAY-Z

Compensate Consume Content Creator Day Every Everywhere Fair Music Only
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
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 Failure Fear People Successful
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
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

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?’

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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?’

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Jay-Z Quotes