Jay-Z Compares Twitter to Weed, Why He Doesn’t Feel Sorry For Dame Dash & Beyonce’s Fake Preggo Rumors

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On the heels of releasing his first solo album since 2009, Jay-Z stopped by The Breakfast Club to discuss a bit of everything. In the interview, he broke down his reasoning for placing new album ‘Magna Carta Holy Grail’ at number 4 on his top albums list, being ‘the cowboy’ of the digital album app era with Samsung, fatherhood,  and his relationship with former business partner Dame Dash. He also  discussed about those infamous Beyonce pregnancy rumors. Peep the excerpts below.
His recent twitter Q&A chat session with fans:
It’s addictive. I can’t be on twitter. It’s like weed.
Why he says that this album is fighting for 4th place:
I mean, only 4th place. You gotta fight ‘Reasonable Doubt,’ ‘Blueprint,’ then the ‘Black Album.’ It’s very difficult to recreate those times.
What he finds as inspiration, in terms of music:
The era I grew up in, was Biggie, Nas, 2pac. I’m inspired by my previous work. I hafta measure myself against that. People were rapping because they loved to rap. Then it became this huge business.
Puff effed the game up for lyricist:
Nah, that’s all you got out of that?
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The artist he’s most proud of:
Kanye West, the most successful at this stage of his career. And his growth. He wasn’t the artist that he was today but he always aspired to be. He proved to be prothetic in that way.
If he may have jinxed the success of Memphis Bleek:
It’s almost like the little brother sydrome. He really grew with me, on the third floor in the same projects from me. He had my shadow on me. So whether I said those things or not. Again, he was just one of a kind. Yeah, Bleek is an amazing soul. You know how much pressure ppl putting on him. ‘You should have $100 million dollars.’
How he felt about Ye’s last album:
I liked it. It’s polarizing. It force you to have an opinion. Which is good. I think it’s needed. What tends to happen is someone has to experiment and go through it first.
Kanye denouncing corporate sponsorship and America:
As an individual I respect that. Me myself I can operate in that venue. I can walk that line between putting out great art and getting paid from my art.
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Music reviews:
I think reviews have lost alot of their importance because of the internet. Y’all both can write the review at the same time.
If he ever hasta watch what he says, literally:
Nah, I’m an artist. I have the creative license to say whatever I feel in that moment. The irony in that. People were like ‘You lied.’ You believed that? You hafta have some irony in music.
If it’s ever awkward with Nas:
It was a moment in time. For us, we really have a good relationship. That thang is so far past. I guess it’s eleven years old, maybe longer and ppl are still fascinated with it.
If he’d ever do another joint album:
The hardest thing ever was going through those R.Kelly albums. It’s an X factor that you can’t even calculate in your mind.
Master spinner, getting off on the phone:
Sounds like real talk to me. Jadakiss can get me on the phone anytime.
The technical difficulties with Samsung:
In that instance, I was the cowboy running over the hill. Anytime you try to do something different, there’s gon be problems because it’s never been done. It was 20 million hits, to the app. We went over a million. It broke. No one’s expecting. There’s no way in the world to calculate 20 million hits. It’s not even a number you can fathom. It’s not a great problem because you want the fan to get that experience. You want them to have that experience right away. I can’t even imagine waiting for Rakim’s album. I took the hit for that.

On Ab-Soul and the Black Hippie Movement:

 When people make good music, I’ll find it.”

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Fatherhood and being a lyricist:

 I hope I’m great, but I’m learning. It’s a new thing for me. I guess it changed me in a way that I know what’s important. I had a pretty good sense of that, it just re-informed me in the sense that I knew.

His relationship with Dame Dash:

Dame is a hustler. Dame will figure it out. He’s a very smart guy.Nothing is going to change how I feel about Dame. No time or space, no separation or anything. I got love for Dame Dash the same way as I did before. I don’t know if we could be around each other in that way because times have changed. He may be a totally different person. I know I’m a different person. But nothing can erase that era and those times and memories, fights that we had to get Roc-a-fella to where it was. That relationship remains. That memory remains. We did something that will be talked about forever. There will always be love there.”

Artists he sees sticking around:

 Obviously J.Cole, Drake, Kendrick [Lamar] as well. I think just on, he’s talented, very talented, share will and wanting it is Wale. Wale is going to be here as well.”

Not signing Lil Wayne:

 The truth is after I had a meeting with Wayne. I had a relationship with Baby. I called him out of respect and said I was talking to Wayne. Then a couple weeks after that we received a letter of torturous interference from a lawyer and I was like ‘Whoa!’ and it just all went from there. I would have rather lose that situation and done the right thing. I could have signed him and told him after, but I did the right thing.”

Sports management:

It’s a business, but I’m going to contribute just as much or more to an athlete than what they are going to give me.”

Leaving Def Jam as president:

I wanted to do more things than to just make music. I was in the position to foster artists and to make money. I was knocking on the doors of powers saying ‘I could do more.’ I can identify companies. I’m giving these guys simple business plans. It was like ‘No, no just bring some hits.’ I was like it’s time to move on, my time here is being wasted.”

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What he watches on TV:

 I watch HBO and ESPN. There’s a little baby einstein’s channel that is always on.”

Working with Timbaland:

Me and Tim have always been great, but we’ve never been able to do more than one record together. We’ve been together since the year started. We’ve only been able to create in small time frames. We did ‘Big Pimpin’ and that was it.When he came this time it was almost like I was looking at a different person. I was like ‘Oh yeah, Tim’s ready.”

On a Roc-a-Fella reunion:

Truly, the past is the past. I’m not trying to recreate the past. That moment was special. I don’t think it works when you try to recreate something.”

On rumors of Beyonce’s fake pregnancy:

That’s a good one. That’s the most ridiculous thing I ever heard. The fact that people were really running with that was a funny little story. I thought it was one of those ‘get press’ things. Then I was slowly like, ‘Oh. ya’ll believe this!’ It’s started going so far. That’s messed up cause the time when you’re supposed to be most joyous and then you have this. To say that you really don’t care about that is annoying, but that’s the position that we’re in.” It doesn’t matter what I say. It doesn’t matter how many times I say, ‘Beyonce is really pregnant!’ people are going to believe what they want to believe. Why waste my time?”

Watch the entire interview below.