Jay Z Talks About His Drug Dealing Past, Says Beyoncé Is 'Gangsta' Now
Looking so dashing on the cover of Vanity Fair‘s November 2013
issue, 43-year-old entertainer Jay Z got to share with the magazine his
Rags-to-Riches Story, wooing Beyoncé, how they reacted when the media
said her pregnancy was fake, and how their daughter Blue Ivy is his
“Biggest Fan”.
Excerpts:
- On his well known crack dealing days in Brooklyn.
I know about budgets. I was a drug dealer. To be in a drug deal, you need to know what you can spend, what you need to re-up.
Not until later, when I realized the effects on the community. I started looking at the community on
the whole, but in the beginning, no.
the whole, but in the beginning, no.
I was thinking about surviving. I was thinking about improving my situation. I was thinking about buying clothes.”
- On his daughter Blue Ivy being his biggest fan:
“She does like her mother [Beyonce's] music – she watches [Beyonce's concerts] on the computer every night.
But my album came out and I don’t know if Blue ever heard any of my
music prior to this album — she’s only 18 months old and I don’t play my
music around the house.
But this album was new, so we played it. And she loves all the songs.
She plays a song and she goes, ‘More, Daddy, more . . . Daddy song.’
She’s my biggest fan. If no one bought the Magna Carta [album], the fact
that she loves it so much, it gives me the greatest joy.
And that’s not like a cliche. I’m really serious. Just to see her —
‘Daddy song, more, Daddy.’ She’s genuine, she’s honest, because she
doesn’t know it makes me happy. She just wants to hear it.”
- On wooing Beyonce before they began dating:
“Well, you know, you’ve got to try first. You got to dazzle…wine and
dine….she’s a charming southern girl, you know, she’s not impressed. But
I would have definitely had to be this cool.”
Jay Z told Vanity Fair Robinson that “of course” he pursued Beyoncé, and
when asked if he hadn’t been Jay Z—say, he had been a gas-station
attendant and she pulled up—would he have been able to date her, he
responded:
If I’m as cool as I am, yes. But she’s a charming Southern girl, you know, she’s not impressed. . . . But I would have definitely had to be this cool.”
Jay confirmed that the line on his latest album, “She was a good girl
’til she knew me” is about Beyoncé, and when Robinson asks if she’s not a
good girl anymore, Jay laughed, saying:
Nah. She’s gangsta now.”
- On the fake rumors that Beyonce wasn’t pregnant:
“It’s just so stupid. You know, I felt dismissive about it, but you’ve
got to feel for her. I mean, we’ve got a really charmed life, so how can
we complain? But when you think about it, we’re still human beings. And
even in hip-hop, all the blogs — they had a field day with it.
I’m like, We come from you guys, we represent you guys. Why are you
perpetuating this? Why are you adding fuel to this ridiculous rumor?”
- On trademarking Blue’s name:
“People wanted to make products based on our child’s name and you don’t
want anybody trying to benefit off your baby’s name. It wasn’t for us
to do anything; as you see, we haven’t done anything.”
