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. 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 Read Quote
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 Read Quote
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 Read Quote
No, I’m not interested in politics. I have zero interest. I have interest in hope and people. Jay-Z Read Quote
Racism is taught in the home. We agree on that? Well, it’s very hard to teach racism to a teenager who’s listening to rap music and who idolizes, say, Snoop Dogg. It’s hard to say, ‘That guy is less than you.’ The kid is like, ‘I like that guy, he’s cool. How is he less than me? Jay-Z Read Quote
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? What are you talking about? Wait a minute, you’re getting out of the zone.’ People hate when people cross lines. Jay-Z Read Quote
My mom had early rap records, like Jimmy Spicer. In the middle of the records was a turntable and a receiver – I used to scratch records on it – and on top was a reel-to-reel. In front of that wall were more stacks of records. It was either Mom’s record or Pop’s record, and they had their names on each and every one. Jay-Z Read Quote
Shakespeare was a man who wrote poetry. I’m a man who writes poetry. Why not compare yourself to the best? Jay-Z Read Quote
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 Read Quote
