Posted by During an appearance on HBO’s The Shop, JAY-Z got candid about numerous stories in his past throughout the barbershop conversation alongside the likes of LeBron James, Bad Bunny and WNBA player Nneka Ogwumike.
Hov even reflected on the impact of 2017’s 4:44 and how other rappers appreciated him releasing the brutally honest response album to Beyoncé’s Lemonade to the point it saved their own relationships.
“To be vulnerable in that space when you’ve done all this work and your ego tells you that you don’t have to, but then nobody else heals,” he said. “So many super gangsta rappers come up to me and tell me on the side, ‘Yo, you saved my relationship.’ It was needed.”
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JAY-Z also spoke on his mother’s reaction to “Smile” where he revealed deeper feelings about their relationship and even touched on her sexuality.
“Even for my mom, it changed the dynamic of our relationship,” the Roc Nation CEO explained. “When she first heard that song, she got super defensive and was like, ‘Absolutely not!’ I was in L.A. and she flew out [to get on the song].”
JAY-Z Learned How To Swim For The Sake of Blue Ivy
Throughout the episode, JAY-Z also remembered DMX bringing a whole arena to tears on the Hard Knock Life Tour, penning “Still D.R.E.” for Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre and also learning how to swim for the sake of ever saving his kids.
Watch a clip below and stream the entire episode on HBO.