There is so much power in lifting as you climb.
For rapper turned business mogul and overall icon Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, it has always been important for him to pave the way for the next generation, while supporting them along the way.
Recently, the rap legend and billionaire revealed just how important relationships are to him within the music business, noting that it are those connections that he takes into consideration when making the decision to align with a fellow artist.
“It’s mostly – it’s actually always been mostly relationships,” said Jay-Z during an appearance on Kevin Hart’s “Heart to Hart” series. “Sometimes it’s talent and sometimes someone asks me to be on some. Pretty much every song that I’m on, I’m asked to be. I don’t ask people to be on their songs and I never charge.”
For rapper Kendrick Lamar, receiving the nod of approval to sample Jay-Z on his latest projects is a sentiment that he does not take lightly.
“Hov, good looking out for clearing that m-thafcking line,” said Lamar during his tour stop at a sold out Barclays Center in Brooklyn last weekend (Aug. 6). “You ain’t never charged me for no m*thaf*cking line, dawg. I really appreciate that sh*t.”
In fact, at this point in his career, Jay-Z does not charge his rap counterparts for a feature. However, musicians have to work hard to even get an appearance by the “Big Pimpin” lyricist as he revealed that he dishes out more “no” responses than just saying “yes” to everything.
He also confirmed that he has not retired from rap after having tried to do so and failing.
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“Nah, I tried [retirement]. I’m terrible at that,” Jay-Z shared, noting the time he claimed he was leaving his rap career behind after releasing “The Black Album in 2003. “I just needed a break … I was really burnt out at that time. I was releasing an album every year … I just looked up one day and I was like, ‘I’m tired.’ I’d never been on vacation until, say, 2000, my whole life.”
