Fuck rap, crack cocaine. . .
With JAY-Z’s 4:44 album nominated for multiple GRAMMYs next month, the iconic musician spoke with the USA Today about his most difficult release ever. Mr. Carter centered the conversation about the importance in truth in songwriting. In the past, it’s been one of his biggest pet peeves, while creating content for every album. However, with his personal life becoming a topic in the public, the native New Yorker had to make his most vulnerable and honest body of work to date.
Below, you can listen to an excerpt from his rare phone call with the USA Today’s Cindy Watts.
On commonality in today’s music:
Jay-Z: I think that streaming and all of these things has really just enhanced it. Everyone listens to all sorts of music. They listen to music they like. It’s almost like a chef. Yes, I’m strong at making Italian music but I can make any kind of music. I’m a musician. I just use different instruments. Thomas uses a guitar. I use a drum machine. When we dig a bit deeper from just the instruments being used, it’s all about love and disappointment and fear. CAll these things that we all go through that are beyond color and beyond gender that when you strike that chord, everyone relates to it.On blurring genres in music:
Jay-Z: I think … country music or hip-hop music, it’s just like a microcosm of society. There’s certain issues that are deemed taboo but as an artist, everything is on the table and if we are being honest with each other, until we are having those conversations and they are uncomfortable and difficult, that’s the only way we’re going to move forward. We can’t just pretend certain things don’t exist or not challenge things in society and religion, that’s how we get to a place of understanding. All these topics are how we grow, how we come together because now I understand a bit more about you and you understand a bit more about me and we start realizing we have more similarities. We realize that all of things that separate us are just really surface things. All of the invisible things are what’s important.On songwriting:
Jay-Z: A lot of times I have ideas. Right now I have a bunch of ideas, and if I hear a track that I like, I’ll say, ‘This idea goes really well with that,’ and I’ll flush it out with the actual track. I’m a great collaborator. When I was creating “Caught Their Eyes” with Frank Ocean, we had a great time. Even when I’m creating by myself, there’s a lot of people around. There’s a lot of discussion. I love discussing these sort of topics and why things are so separate when we’re really just making music.[Source]