Culture
Jay-Z Talks Beyonce’s Views on 4:44, ‘The Story of OJ,’ Therapy, and More with The New York Times
Following his opinion editorial on the unjust sentence of Meek Mill and the prison system, Jay-Z returns with an exclusive interview with the New York newspaper where he sat down with executive editor Dean Baquet for a detailed 35-minute conversation.
Throughout the sit down, Jay-Z talks about his 4:44-LP cut, “The Story of OJ,” teaching his children compassion, being a black man in Trump’s America, Beyonce loving 4:44, signing Colin Kaepernick if he were an NFL team owner, and much more.
Read an excerpt from an interview below where he talks about his relationship with Kanye West.
BAQUET: So now I gotta ask my one gossipy question. Talk about Kanye West and your relationship with him, which you alluded to a little bit in the album. When’s the last time you talked to him?
JAY-Z: I [talked to] Kanye the other day, just to tell him, like, he’s my brother. I love Kanye. I do. It’s a complicated relationship with us.
BAQUET: Why is it complicated?
JAY-Z: ‘Cause, you know — Kanye came into this business on my label. So I’ve always been like his big brother. And we’re both entertainers. It’s always been like a little underlying competition with your big brother. And we both love and respect each other’s art, too. So it’s like, we both — everyone wants to be the greatest in the world. You know what I’m saying? And then there’s like a lot of other factors that play in it. But it’s gonna, we gonna always be good.
BAQUET: But there’s tension now, right?
JAY-Z: Yeah, yeah, yeah. But that happens. In the long relationship, you know, hopefully when we’re 89 we look at this six months or whatever time and we laugh at that. You know what I’m saying? There’s gonna be complications in the relationship that we have to get through. And the only way to get through that is we sit down and have a dialogue and say, “These are the things that I’m uncomfortable with. These are the things that are unacceptable to me. This is what I feel.” I’m sure he feels that I’ve done things to him as well. You know what I’m saying? These are — I’m not a perfect human being by no stretch. You know.
BAQUET: Is he as evolved as you?
JAY-Z: He’s highly evolved. No, he’s … I think he started out in a more compassionate position than me. You know what I’m saying. I don’t know if he’s had the level of — I mean, I had to survive by my instincts. I’m here because I grew up a different way. And I got out of that.
You know, my first album came out when I was 26. So I was already a different artist. You know, a lot of people’s album come out they’re 17, 18. So their subject matter is that of a 17- or 18-year-old. Unless you’re Nas, and you like, well-read14… — like, he was way more advanced with the album that he wrote. So I just grew up a different way. But [West is] a very compassionate person. And a lot of times he get in trouble trying to help others. So I can identify with it. It’s just that there’s certain things that happened that’s not really acceptable to me.
BAQUET: Right.
JAY-Z: And we just need to speak about it. But there’s genuine love there.
Rihanna has crossed 200 million RIAA singles certifications in the United States, becoming the first Black vocalist and first female artist in the organization’s 73-year history to reach the milestone. Her total now stands at 200.5 million.
Two certification updates on April 10 pushed her over the mark. “Unfaithful,” track three on her 2006 album A Girl Like Me, was certified 4x Platinum in celebration of the album’s 20th anniversary. Her 2005 single “If It’s Lovin That You Want,” the second single from her debut album Music of the Sun, also crossed the 1x Platinum threshold more than two decades after its release. Platinum status represents one million equivalent units in the United States, with the RIAA counting 150 on-demand streams as the equivalent of one digital purchase.
Among all artists, she ranks third behind Drake at 277.5 million and Morgan Wallen at 215 million.
Rihanna hasn’t released an album since Anti in 2016. Catalog staples like “Umbrella,” “We Found Love,” “Only Girl (In the World),” and “Don’t Stop the Music” continue to accumulate certifications without new music driving them. Outside of her Super Bowl halftime show in 2023 and contributions to the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Smurfs soundtracks, she has released no new solo music in nearly a decade.
As previously reported by miixtapechiick.com, Rihanna was spotted in the studio at 2 a.m. earlier this year and told Harper’s Bazaar in 2025 that she had “cracked the code” on the direction for her next project.
J. Cole made his debut with the Nanjing Monkey Kings in the Chinese Basketball Association on Saturday night, finishing without a point in eight minutes off the bench as Nanjing lost 95-81 to the Guangzhou Loong Lions.
Cole went 0-for-5 from the field, with all five attempts coming from behind the three-point line. He finished with one rebound and one assist. Cole addressed the outing on his blog afterward, keeping it straightforward. “I got to play 8 minutes in one of the top leagues in the world, got a few good looks but wasn’t able to hit one,” he wrote. “A couple more games and maybe those shots would have started to fall! Either way I’m fulfilled and grateful! Sh*t, I feel like I dropped 20!!!”
He also explained why he only appeared in one game. “Initially I was scheduled to play in at least 3 games for the Nanjing Monkey Kings of the CBA. The work visa process took way longer than expected, so I was only able to play in one before heading back.”
Saturday’s game was Cole’s third time suiting up for a professional team. He played for the Rwanda Patriots in the Basketball Africa League in 2021 and the Scarborough Shooting Stars in Canada the following year.
Rihanna was spotted in Paris last week with her daughter Rocki Irish Mayers, marking one of the baby girl’s first public outings since her birth in September 2025. A$AP Rocky was also present, spending the day with their eldest son RZA. Their youngest son Riot did not appear in photos from the outing.
Rocki was dressed in a vintage Dior green-and-black John Galliano beanie from 2002, a gray pleated Dior dress layered over jeans and sneakers. Rihanna wore a Carhartt hat, a Prada striped polo shirt, and carried her “Dracula” Dior bag. Rocky and RZA were photographed walking hand in hand nearby, with RZA in a pink-striped tee and dark shades.
Rihanna announced Rocki’s birth on Instagram on September 24, 2025, posting a photo holding her newborn alongside pink silk baby boxing gloves. “Rocki Irish Mayers Sept 13 2025,” she captioned it. During the Smurfs premiere earlier this year, she spoke about her sons’ reaction to having a little sister. “I’ve always wanted a girl,” she said. “But God knows best, right? And I love my boys.”
Rihanna and Rocky welcomed RZA in May 2022, Riot Rose in 2023, and Rocki Irish in September 2025.
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