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Portrait of Jay-Z

Jay-Z

(1969) Rapper

397 quotes in 1282 categories

Culture travels with him, showing that hip‑hop can make big ideas feel reachable. The quotes highlight how music drives his decisions and how teamwork turns songs into shared stories. They also paint vivid scenes of struggle, like tears on a mausoleum floor, reminding us that art often mirrors intense moments.

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Jay-Z is a rapper.

Quick Facts About Jay-Z

Born: December 4, 1969
Profession: Rapper

About Jay-Z

Jay‑Z, whose real name is Shawn Corey Carter, is an American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. In 2023, Billboard and Vibe called him the greatest rapper ever. He is known for complex lyricism with double meanings and wordplay, and he works in hip‑hop from the East Coast.

Quotes by Jay-Z

Can I live?

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Don't ever go with the flow. Be the flow.

Flow

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Niggas wanna hijack the flyness.

Hijack

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I'd rather die enormous than live dormant.

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Jealousy’s a weak emotion.

Emotion

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I'm far from God, but I work god damn hard.

God

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“This communist talk is so confusing”

Communist

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Everyone needs a chance to evolve.

Chance

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Men lie, women lie, numbers dont

Lying

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I'm just going to make the music I love to make, and I'm going to mature with my music.

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“Man I'm high off life. Fuck it, I'm WASTED”

Drugs

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May the best of your today's be the worst of your tomorrow's

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I believe you can speak things into existence.

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I'm not concerned with noise because I'm playing the long game.

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Mo money, 40 year old phenom. Our 15 minutes of fame has stretched beyond.

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My first album didn't come out until I was 26.

Album

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We change people through conversation, not through censorship.

Censorship

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We were living in a tough situation, but my mother managed; she juggled. Sometimes we'd pay the light bill, sometimes we paid…

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The Nets' a stone throw from where I used to throw bricks ...So it's only right I'm still tossing 'round Knicks.

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In sheepskin coats, I silence the lamb. Do you know who I am Clarice? No cheap cologne whenever I shh-shh. Success never…

Smell

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A poet's mission is to make words do more work than they normally do, to make them work on more than one…

Goals

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Shakespeare was a man who wrote poetry. I'm a man who writes poetry. Why not compare yourself to the best?

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I thought I would be more inspired to have all these new feelings to talk about, but I really just want to…

Children

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It's hilarious a lot of times. You have a conversation with someone, and he's like, 'You speak so well!' I'm like, 'What…

Communication

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Your future is ahead of you. Imagine the notion of the past fifteen years of your life being a blip in your…

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I try to make music with emotion and integrity. And authenticity. You can feel when something's authentic, and you can feel when…

Authenticity

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My thing is related to who I am as a person. The clothes are an extension of me. The music is an…

Clothes

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I think in London - and I don't wanna offend anybody in America, but this is a real statement - they still…

Family

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I've always believed in good music over bad music. I believe in two sorts of musics. And the lines that separate us,…

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We were kids without fathers, so we found our fathers on wax and on the streets and in history, and in a…

Ancestor

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Artists can have greater access to reality; they can see patterns and details and connections that other people, distracted by the blur…

Art

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'Blueprint 3' is made up of songs, but it's also a commentary on the idea that in order for rap to survive,…

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I was an artist, I was executive producer on my first album, so I've always had to manage both. I couldn't get…

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What you eat dont make me shit.

Food

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I went through hell, Im expecting heaven.

Heaven

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I'm not a businessman, I'm a business, man!

Business

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Jealousys a weak emotion.

Emotion

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I got 99 Problems but Mitt ain't one.

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Ball so hard motherf*ckers wanna find me.

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I look in the mirror, my only opponent

Inspirational

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Jay-Z by topic

Music (51) People (48) Rapper (45) Life (32) Hip hop (32) Rap (31) Love (29) Time (28) Song (27) Inspirational (27) Money (20) Art (19) Business (16) Artist (16) Thinking (13) World (12)