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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

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
The challenge is to get everyone to respect music again, to recognize its value.
JAY-Z

Again Challenge Everyone Respect Music Recognize Value
I was an artist, I was executive producer on my first album, so I’ve always had to manage both. I couldn’t get a record deal. It wasn’t by choice – I couldn’t get a record deal, so I had to figure it out.
JAY-Z

Album Always Artistic Both Executive First Manage Producer
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
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
Your job is to inspire people from your neighborhood to get out.
JAY-Z

Inspire Job Neighbourhoodm Out People
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
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
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
My passion is music, you know, and music influences culture, influences lifestyle, which leads me to ‘Roc-A-Wear’. I was forced to be an entrepreneur, so that led me to be CEO of ‘Roc-A-Fella’ records, which lead to Def Jam.
JAY-Z

Influence Know Lead Lifestyle Music Passion Wear
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
I’m hungry for knowledge. The whole thing is to learn every day, to get brighter and brighter. That’s what this world is about.
JAY-Z

Brighter Day Every Hungry Knowledge Learn Thing World
When you’re growing up, your dad is your superhero. Once you’ve let yourself fall that in love with someone, once you put him on such a high pedestal and he lets you down, you never want to experience that pain again.
JAY-Z

Dad Fall Grow High Once Put Someone Such Superhero Yourself
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’ve got a nice collection of paintings – a Basquiat, a black-and-white Warhol that’s like a Rorschach test, and I commissioned Takashi Murakami to do a ten-foot joint for me. It’s almost like the explosion in Hiroshima with his famous skeleton head. There’s a wall above my fireplace reserved for it.
JAY-Z

Collection Commission Country Nice Painting Person Test White
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 would run into the corner store, the bodega, and just grab a paper bag or buy juice – anything just to get a paper bag. And I’d write the words on the paper bag and stuff these ideas in my pocket until I got back. Then I would transfer them into the notebook.
JAY-Z

Anything Bag Come Grab Juice Paper Run Store
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

Album Call Code Deal Doubt First Issue Mainly Reasonable Stress Talk
What people have to understand is ‘Billboard’ is a magazine. They’re like elected officials – they work for us.
JAY-Z

Billboard Elected Magazine Official People Understand Work
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
If I go into a studio and find my truth of the moment, there are a number of people in the world who can relate to what I’m saying and are going to buy into what I’m doing. Not because it’s the new thing of the moment, but because it’s genuine emotion. Its how I feel. This is how I articulate the world.
JAY-Z

Find Go Moment Number People Relate Say Studio Truth World
Belief in oneself and knowing who you are, I mean, that’s the foundation for everything great.
JAY-Z

Belief Everything Foundation Great Know Mean Oneself
I’ve never looked at myself and said that I need to be a certain way to be around a certain sort of people.
JAY-Z

Around Certain Look Myself Need never People Said Sort Way
When the TV version of Annie came on, I was drawn to it. It was the struggle of this poor kid in this environment and how her life changed. It immediately resonated.
JAY-Z

Change Drawn Environment Kid Life Perosnm Celebrity Poor Show Struggle Televiosnm Version
I never wanted to just glamorize the playa lifestyle and not touch on the down side. I wanted everyone who’s in a desperate situation to know that, if they wanna choose that kinda lifestyle, they gotta be aware of everything that comes with it! It’s not just about the cars, the ladies and the money.
JAY-Z

Down Glamorize Just Lifestyle Playa Side Touch Want
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
Everyone knows I’m married; I just don’t discuss it. Because it’s a part of my life that I’d rather keep private… When your whole life is played out in front of everybody, for your sanity, you need parts that are just yours.
JAY-Z

Discuss Everyone Keep Know Life Married Part Private Rather

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.

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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.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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