In the nine years since he released his last solo album, 4:44, a lot has happened in Jay-Z’s personal life, hip-hop music, and the world at large. Some of this, though perhaps not as much as a curious reader might hope, is the subject of a recent GQ interview with the rapper. In it, the Roc Nation boss discussed his feelings about being sued for sexual assault in 2024 (and the resulting voluntarily dismissal of the lawsuit), his company’s controversial curation of the Super Bowl halftime show, his thoughts on the Kendrick Lamar–versus–Drake feud, and, most relevant to fans of his music, what is preventing him from releasing a new album. The answer to the last question isn’t, as one might guess, that Jay is content with his vast musical legacy or that he’s too busy enjoying his wealth. It’s that he’s simply too mad. Following the assault accusation, Jay-Z was full of “uncontrollable anger,” he said, and because he writes music “from experiences,” any output he made at the time would have reflected that: “I’m not sure with the amount of negativity in the world that people needed me to add to that with my feelings,” he told GQ.
The rapper didn’t go on to paint a picture of what this looks like in practice, but it did conjure a scene. I’d like to imagine that, every time Jay-Z enters the studio nowadays, he meditates surrounded by scented candles, hoping this will quiet his bubbling rage. But his efforts are futile, and hours later, he emerges from a fugue state, surrounded by shattered recording equipment. He calls Beyoncé: “Bey, it happened again …”
Jay explained the reason the allegations shook him so deeply was that, even when he was in the streets and “doing the worst things,” he had strong principles: “There was a line: no women, no kids.” He also mentioned that his newfound desire to avoid negativity soured his reaction to the Kendrick Lamar and Drake feud. “It’s too far. It’s bringing people’s kids in it,” he said, adding that this is all worsened in the age of social media. Rather than battle rapping, Jay posited that “we can achieve the same thing, as far as sparring with music, with collaborations.” Jay may be right, but if he ever wants to collaborate with anyone ever again to set an example, perhaps he should stop by an anger-management class first.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.vulture.com ’
