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Artist Quotes by Jay-Z

16 Artist quotes by Jay-Z

All Artist quotes Jay-Z’s page

If you’ve ever wondered how a lyricist frames the act of creating, this set of sixteen thoughts from Jay‑Z offers a clear window. He moves from street‑level hustle to the broader canvas of cultural impact, giving you a concise look at how he defines the artist’s role in shaping both sound and society.

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Whoever said that artists shouldn't pay attention to their business was probably someone w/their hand in some artist's pocket.

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You put the right artist on the right track in the studio and leave the door open to let God in.

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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…

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I think it's very important for hip-hop, when an artist reaches a certain level, to ascend to executive work.

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As an artist, you make music. And if you see people who don't know how to market your music, you get involved…

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The fans get to see you, and you can do great by your record if you have a great performance or a…

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I've got a nice collection of paintings - a Basquiat, a black-and-white Warhol that's like a Rorschach test, and I commissioned Takashi…

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It's always been most important for me to figure out "my space" rather than trying to check out what everyone else is…

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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…

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I collect art, and I drink wine... things that I like that I had never been exposed to. But I never said,…

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That was the greatest trick in music that people ever pulled off, to convince artists that you can't be an artist and…

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

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I was forced to be an artist and a CEO from the beginning, so I was forced to be like a businessman…

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On the night he died - he was twenty-seven - Basquiat had been planning to see a Run-DMC show. When people asked…

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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…

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More by Jay-Z

At 42 be better than 24, I carried the 4-5, mastered 48 laws.

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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…

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Everyone who makes music is a good collaborator at their foundation because in order to make music, you have to connect to it in…

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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…

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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…

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“THEY NEVER TAUGHT MARCUS GARVEY IN OUR SCHOOL CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS IS THEIR GOLDEN RULE”

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I'm a person that works off of music. I let the music dictate the direction.

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Tears on the mauseoleum floor. Blood stains the coliseum doors. Lies on the lips of a priest. Thanksgiving disguised as a feast.

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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…

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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…

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All black everything, Ni**a you know my fresh code. Im out here fightin for you, dont increase my stress load.

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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.…

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Lord forgive me I never would've made it without sin.

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In trouble waters I had to learn how to float

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Their gunnin' for me, want to see me fall, you know my story, been through it all, times I felt like dyin', but I…

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