Jay-Z also touched on new music, nearly linking up with Clipse, and more during the conversation.
Speaking with Frazier Tharpe in an interview for GQ published on Tuesday, Jay-Z opened up about his billionaire status and addressed the criticism that comes with it. He made it clear that public opinion about his wealth doesn’t faze him.
“I got to give you the honest answer: There’s no tension,” he said when asked about the backlash. “I don’t give a f*ck what you say. [Laughs.] You can believe what you want to believe. And people behave the way they want to behave—it’s not a dollar amount. It’s almost like a cop-out. You get to demonize this group of folks without fixing the actual system that exists, that’s in play. [Money] may enhance it or may cause you to act in a way. But you was going to act like that anyway.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Jay-Z addressed why he didn’t appear on Clipse’s album, Let God Sort Em Out, while also hinting at new music in the works. “I think the first thing that I say, it has to be said from me,” he explained. “I don’t want to be so rigid with it, though. I’m going to keep that open. I’m going to take that back. I don’t want to be so rigid. But at that moment, I was like, ‘Yeah, I want to do something.’ But in order for me to move forward, I got to get this sh*t out. I got to get it out.”
When it comes to what a new project might sound like, Jay-Z admitted he’s still figuring it out. “I don’t know yet. I don’t know. But I know that we have enough negativity currently,” he said. “Forget the landscape of music. I don’t know what I need to create currently that’s going to fulfill me and make me happy because that’s most important. I know I just got to be honest about what I feel and where I am. Maybe I’m overthinking it. Maybe I’m stopping myself from just creating. Whatever it is, it just needs to be a true representation of how I feel. Trying to create something that people like is where I think a lot of artists get jammed up. And people can feel that because it’s not authentic. I just got to make something timeless that I really love and that’s really honest and true to who I am.”
The interview arrives shortly after Jay-Z announced three upcoming shows at Yankee Stadium this summer, where he’ll celebrate the 30th anniversary of Reasonable Doubt and the 25th anniversary of The Blueprint.
