It’s been a busy couple of weeks for Jay-Z. He released his new album Magna Carta Holy Grail; he began a new tour ‘Legends Of Summer” with Justin Timberlake; and he even found time to protest in honor of Trayvon Martin. He also managed to sit down Life and Times correspondent Elliott Wilson before a performance at Yankee Stadium. They discussed a myriad of topics, and this video is the first of a two-part series.
As reported by complex.com:
“While Elliott and Jay touch on a variety of subjects, including the connection Jay’s #NewRules in the music business, one of the most revealing parts of the conversation comes around 20 minutes in, when Jay talks about dealing with fame vs. real problems.
‘People are still getting shot where I grew up. I’ve got a couple cameras in my face, I can deal with that,’ Jay says. ‘You go through it like, “This is terrible I can’t even take my daughter to the store” — wait a minute — let’s put it all in perspective. It’s not a real problem. People have real, real problems. Your son may go out and not come back. That’s a real problem.'”
That was definitely the most personal moment of the interview, but the underlying theme of the interview seemed to be about what his career means to hip-hop and what the new album, Magna Carta Holy Grail represents.
Throughout the interview he speaks about the growth of hip-hop, and the importance of events like his “Hard Knock Life Tour,” which paved the way for rap artists to perform at Yankee Stadium.
The two men noted that both times Jay-Z has been at Yankee Stadium it was in collaboration with a white artist — last time was Eminem — which Jay joked was a “reflection of America.”
But even on that note, he spoke about how important it was for him the first time around to bring out other rap artists to be a part of the show.
They also discussed Jay-Z’s love of art, which he says he enjoys just as some people enjoy music.
Wilson asked him about the “Legends of Summer” Tour and Jay-Z spoke about creating true collaboration that makes a “once in a lifetime moment.” He also noted t how easy it is to create those moments with Timberlake because they use the same producers: Timbaland and Pharrell.
We’ll soon bring you part two of the interview, but in the meantime we wonder if Jay-Z and Timberlake will swing the tour through Florida amid rumors that they’re joining Stevie Wonder boycott of the state over the ‘Stand Your Ground’ law. Or perhaps they will just continue to dedicate songs Trayvon.
