Jay-Z sat down with Rick Rubin to talk about his songs, his career, and his insights for the JAŸ-Z In 8 docuseries-slash-podcast for HBO Max, the first two episodes of which come out tonight (Friday, September 18) at 8PM EST. Six more episodes will follow. Complex caught an early look at the episodes, and reported that he wanted to retire after his first album Reasonable Doubt and quit rapping to focus on business.
Of course, we have heard various Hov retirement stories before, whether they are attached to this first LP, a project like The Black Album, or the long wait since 2017's 4:44. So this reflection should come as no surprise. "Rappers were pulling up in turtle tops and minivans, and we was coming with 4Runners and Lexuses and Acuras. You want to do that? We already doing this? That seems like a step backwards," he reportedly remarked.
But a more interesting caveat was how the Roc Nation mogul spoke about not liking the process of being an artist. He reportedly wanted to drop an album and dip immediately after, citing Russell Simmons as an example to follow. "I didn't love being an artist... I didn't like shooting videos. Didn't like doing interviews. I didn't like speaking," Jay reportedly expressed.
Jay-Z & Colin Kaepernick
In hindsight, we know his passion for writing contributed to him changing his mind, and the success kept on coming with it. It seems like the Brooklyn MC made both realities come true. He is just as much of a businessman these days as he is a lyricist, performer, and creative.
But Jay-Z's marriages of business and music have been controversial. Recently, new remarks and insights from Colin Kaepernick (and Hov's Yankee Stadium freestyle) have re-litigated the NFL Roc Nation debacle. These developments sparked renewed debates around whether or not Hov sold the culture out by partnering with a league who was blackballing one of their players for protesting systemic racial oppression in the United States.
With this and other controversies in mind (such as the Target deal backlash he also pushed back on during his Yankee Stadium freestyle), these reflections on his early career ambitions are, in a way, prophetic. But a larger question looms for die-hards and haters alike: Does Jay-Z like being an artist enough these days to step back into the studio album ring? Or are there only more billionaire business deals on the way?
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