When Basquiat was hanging out with Madonna and Fab Five Freddy, and all those worlds were colliding, people have to realize hip-hop… — Jay-Z Copy Share Image
I was an artist, I was executive producer on my first album, so I've always had to manage both. I couldn't get… — Jay-Z Copy Share Image
Everyone's supposed to stay in their lines and be neat. 'You're a rapper. You're supposed to rap, carry a boom box, wear… — Jay-Z Copy Share Image
“The art of rap is deceptive. It seems so straightforward and personal and real that people read it completely literally, as raw… — Jay-Z Copy Share Image
Whoever said that artists shouldn't pay attention to their business was probably someone w/their hand in some artist's pocket. — Jay-Z Copy Share Image
When you listen to an album, it shouldn't feel like, "That's the girl song," "That's the club song." I shouldn't know what… — Jay-Z Copy Share Image
As an artist, you make music. And if you see people who don't know how to market your music, you get involved… — Jay-Z Copy Share Image
That was the greatest trick in music that people ever pulled off, to convince artists that you can't be an artist and… — Jay-Z Copy Share Image
It's always been most important for me to figure out "my space" rather than trying to check out what everyone else is… — Jay-Z Copy Share Image
On the night he died - he was twenty-seven - Basquiat had been planning to see a Run-DMC show. When people asked… — Jay-Z Copy Share Image
Hip-hop from the beginning has always been aspirational. It always broke that notion that an artist can't think about money as well.… — Jay-Z Copy Share Image
Artists can have greater access to reality; they can see patterns and details and connections that other people, distracted by the blur… — Jay-Z Copy Share Image
When you have a reputation for making not only good songs but great albums, that in itself creates added artistic pressure. But,… — Jay-Z Copy Share Image
You put the right artist on the right track in the studio and leave the door open to let God in. — Jay-Z Copy Share Image
I have inherited two of the most important brands in hip-hop, Def Jam and Roc-A-Fella. Reid and Universal Music Group have given… — Jay-Z Copy Share Image
I think it's very important for hip-hop, when an artist reaches a certain level, to ascend to executive work. — Jay-Z Copy Share Image
People who don't know you, you don't know their motives. They smile at you all day, "Oh, that's great. You've done it… — Jay-Z Copy Share Image
I collect art, and I drink wine... things that I like that I had never been exposed to. But I never said,… — Jay-Z Copy Share Image
I was forced to be an artist and a CEO from the beginning, so I was forced to be like a businessman… — Jay-Z Copy Share Image
Wherever I go, I bring the culture with me, so that they can understand that it's attainable. I didn't do it any other way… — Jay-Z Copy Share Image
Everyone who makes music is a good collaborator at their foundation because in order to make music, you have to connect to it in… — Jay-Z Copy Share Image
New York - I'm connected. This is my core. I feel like if I'm not connected to New York, then I don't even know… — Jay-Z Copy Share Image
It was a very intense and stressful situation. There was playing in the Johnny-pump (an opened fire hydrant) and the ice-cream man coming around… — Jay-Z Copy Share Image
“THEY NEVER TAUGHT MARCUS GARVEY IN OUR SCHOOL CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS IS THEIR GOLDEN RULE” — Jay-Z Copy Share Image
I'm a person that works off of music. I let the music dictate the direction. — Jay-Z Copy Share Image
Tears on the mauseoleum floor. Blood stains the coliseum doors. Lies on the lips of a priest. Thanksgiving disguised as a feast. — Jay-Z Copy Share Image
Around 20. I'd been trying to transition from the streets to the music business, but I would make demos and then quit for six… — Jay-Z Copy Share Image
There's the gift, there's the spirit, and there's the work-all three have to come together. If one of those things is off, it can… — Jay-Z Copy Share Image
All black everything, Ni**a you know my fresh code. Im out here fightin for you, dont increase my stress load. — Jay-Z Copy Share Image
I couldn't even think about wanting to be something else; I wouldn't let myself visualize another life. But I wrote because I couldn't stop.… — Jay-Z Copy Share Image
