CBS News host Gayle King snagged an interview with rapper Jay-Z, an A-list artist who rarely speaks with any outlet. King’s success in securing this sit-down can be attributed to her impressive career, a history of conducting insightful interviews, and a lot of groveling.
Despite advice from her close friend Oprah Winfrey to quit asking the multi-Grammy winner for the interview, King’s dedication and persuasive efforts ultimately paid off, allowing her to conduct a notable one-on-one with the Brooklyn emcee.
One day in October the stars aligned, and Jay-Z joined the longtime “CBS Mornings” journalist for a walkthrough of the Book of Hov exhibition at the Brooklyn Library, which commemorates his three-decades-long career.
“I’m still floating from that honestly,” said King in a recent interview with “Access Hollywood” on Nov. 19. She said she was “buzzing” before and after the interview because she was unsure it was going to happen.
Uncertain about his decision, she continued asking, saying, “I was shameless. … I think that I just groveled. It became embarrassing.”
King began pitching a story to Hov about the Roc Nation mogul’s career, music, family, and business endeavors, and more in July 2023. He liked the idea but wondered who she was going to get to talk to her.
According to Oprah Daily, she had to clarify that she wanted to speak with him, “I mean with you,” which required more work. The two texted and went back and forth for months to lock in a date suitable for both parties.
“Even Oprah said, ‘You are making a damn fool of yourself. Stop asking him. He doesn’t want to do it.’ But I couldn’t let it go,” King said, “because he never said no, no, no. He just kept delaying, delaying.”
The 68-year-old said she kept “coming back” to Jay-Z, who agreed to do the interview in September, two days before it was expected to take place. “I don’t know why he said yes or why he changed his mind. … I’m just grateful that he did,” she added.
King said that she never gave up hope, particularly since the New York native had never explicitly rejected her requests. However, “The Color Purple” producer, who has been her best friend for 46 years, suggested that Jay-Z’s apparent lack of refusal was him “being polite” and not wanting to outright decline and potentially hurt her feelings.
Upon hearing Winfrey’s perspective, some fans online said they understood where she was coming from.
“Begging Jay Z for an interview is beneath anyone. Tsk tsk Gayle,” one person tweeted. Another joked, saying Oprah was like, “Been there, done that.”
Others applauded her tenacity, including two who wrote, “She persisted” and, “She got the interview when it made sense.”
In his recent interview with Gayle King, Jay-Z talked about the independent release of his debut album ‘Reasonable Doubt.’⬇️
— Samuel Sarfo (@SamuelSarfo_) October 27, 2023
Jay-Z was rejected by every single music label. Nobody would sign him. In fact, they thought he was terrible. So he decided to create his own label. The… pic.twitter.com/a1zKKET81Z
Sitting with Jay-Z yielded top ratings and a few responses to questions like if his oldest daughter Blue Ivy thinks he’s cool and would he have lunch with himself or take $500,000 for his pockets. Jigga’s answer to the latter was simple: “You gotta take the money!”
When Gayle interjected and reminded him of all the wisdom someone could gain from the multi-hyphenate billionaire, he stopped her and said, “You got all that in the music for $10.99. That’s a bad deal, I wouldn’t tell you to cut a bad deal. Take the $500,000, go buy some albums, and listen to the albums, it’s all there.”
“‘The Blueprint’ literally,” Jay-Z said, “To me, and my life, and my journey is there already.”
