Jay-Z has been named one of GQ’s men of the year along side the company of Jimmy Fallon, Justin Timberlake, Michael Fassbender. In the interview below, Hov touches down on becoming a daddy, deciphering some lyrics from Watch The Throne and more…
Check the full article and interview here
As the promo run continues leading up to Drizzy’s official unveiling of Take Care on Nov 15th, GQ sat down with the canadian bred emcee with a lil QA
GQ: It seems like the world is excited.
Drake: [Huge smile] Yeah, man, I hope so.GQ: You announced the title of this album, Take Care, with us back in December. What does it mean?
Drake: No one has actually asked me that yet. I came up with the name when I was on a bus in Birmingham, England, going to a show. “Take Care” is this thing we use in passing conversation to dismiss bullshit like, “Oh, you couldn’t make it on time? Oh, take care, take care.” We’ve always used that and then I really took so much care making this album. I knew I was going to go home and take longer than six months, I knew that I was literally going to take care of making this project and be attentive, be clear, be immersed in it. “Take Care” worked.GQ: You seem more excited releasing Take Care than you were with Thank Me Later. Do you have any regrets with your last album?
Drake: No, I never regret. It did amazing things for my career and as a sonic composition, I’m still proud of it. It was just very weird to make an album, for sale, in four months on a tour bus. It wasn’t So Far Gone. So Far Gone was my first album, so I felt like it was unfair to me. Like damn, I just made So Far Gone. Now I have to come right back out with another piece.GQ: And that is what people were going to call your first album.
Drake: Right! This is what people are going to call my first album when really [So Far Gone] was my first album. I shouldn’t have to rush this because I just gave you a body of work. Give me a minute. So I made Thank Me Later and it did great for me but you’re right, I was immediately on to my next one.GQ: So what’s different now?
Drake: I’m going to make this a moment for myself. I followed through on my vision…even the songs that are out now like “Trust Issues”and “Club Paradise,” “Free Spirit,” “Headlines,” “Make Me Proud,” “Marvins Room,” “The Motto,” I’m all very proud of. That’s an album in and of itself and I have nineteen more songs to give you on November 15th.GQ: So rank them, if you will, best to worst: So Far Gone, Thank Me Later, and Take Care…
Drake: It’s hard for me to put So Far Gone second because it’s the first time anyone ever really paid attention or heard me. But I’m going to be honest with you, Take Care, then So Far Gone, then Thank Me Later…GQ: Some of the features on this album are crazy. Wayne, Nicki, Rihanna, some unknown guy named Andre 3000…
Drake: He murdered that shit! He killed it and 40 switched the beat, it’s nasty. I didn’t get to see him record, but speaking with him was great and we even spoke about projects beyond “The Real Her.”“I wish that we lived in a time and a generation where people would stop viewing my honesty as overly emotional. People always act like I spend my life crying in a dark room. I don’t, I’m good. I’m a man.”
GQ: You said that, “Just by buying your album, you know a lot of shit about me.” So let’s break down some lyrics. “Why is this so familiar? Just met/already feel like I know the real her.”
Drake: I guess sometimes I feel like I’m laying next to the same woman over and over again. The things that they say, the place they are in their life, the concerns they have about me and my life. I feel like I deal with the same women repetitively. The ones I’m referring to in that song have all fucked the same rappers. So, yeah, that’s why I say we just met but I think I’ve already met the real her, because I’ve already met you so many times, in different shapes and forms—it all feels familiar.
Peep the full article available at GQ.
Tunechi for GQ mag… peep game
I hear you plan to retire when you turn 35?
Basically, I have been doing this for eighteen years. That’s reason number one. I have accomplished all that I have set out to accomplish and more. Also, I have a label, and I’ve only put out two artists [Drake and Nicki Minaj]. I have a lot more work to do, and it’d be selfish to not focus on being the boss and focus on their projects.But the main reason is my kids, my children. Now, if I thought I’d be selfish to my artists, imagine what I think I would be doing to my kids. I have enough money that they don’t have to ever do anything—which, they will do everything, ’cause they ain’t getting shit. [cackles wildly] Six [more] years, I can do this Lil Wayne thing, and my boys will be about 7 and 8 years old. And man, it’s all about them then. You know, whatever they’re doing. Sports. Whatever they’re into. That’s where I am. I’m at every game. I’m the dad with the hat on. The jersey. That’s me.
You’re sober now? No more syrup?
I’m good. I ain’t tripping. I’m used to it now. But I was never on heroin or cocaine or Ecstasy or nothing like that. I drank syrup and smoked a lotta weed. I wish I could be back on it. That’s how it fucking feels. [cracking himself up]“How does it feel to be sober?” I’ll be like, “It feels fucked-up.” What you want me to say? “It feels great”? No. I was on something that the doctor prescribed. I was ill, and that was helping me.What’s up with all the skateboarding?
You know, I don’t know. Everybody asks me that question, like, “What made you start skating?” Yeah, well, um…I don’t know. I’m still like a kid, because unfortunately my childhood was raped away from me because I became a star, a rapper, or whatever you want to call it, and you can’t be a kid and a rapper at the same time. So I watch television and I get real amped. Like, people watch commercials, and they’re like, “Who’s gonna buy that?” I’m the person they make the commercials for. I watch them, and I’m like, “Oh God, that’s awesome.” So I was just watching TV, and I was like, “Yeah. I want to do that!” And I called a guy and I said, “I want a ramp on my roof.” I have a pretty big roof at home. So I put a ramp on the roof about five months ago, and man, I’ve been skating ever since.How does life look right now through Lil Wayne’s glasses?
I can describe it like this: Today I was riding up to the venue. I had just woken up, and I looked out the window, and there was like a billion cars in the parking lot. I turned to my girl, and I said, “Isn’t it crazy how all those cars and all those people are there to see me?” And the craziest part was I still could get that feeling. All this time, after all those albums, videos, all those awards and money and groupies and homeys and gangbanging and friends and no-longer friends. That I can still get that feeling, like, “Wow. This is amazing.” That’s what it is to be me. Yeah.
Still have some mixed reviews on this book but if you’re a fan it’s def worth the read if you’ve been under a rock for the past year and haven’t copped a copy. Nonetheless, Jay is re-releasing Decoded in a paperback copy and will feature a new chapter, seven additional illustrations, three songs: “I Know”, “Young Gz”, “Lost One” and a new afterword.
What still excites me about rap is that it’s an open thread, a cipher that listeners find their own meanings in. The point of this book is not to settle arguments or transform rap songs into neat stories with a beginning, middle, and end. Rather, I’m trying to point readers to some ideas and information, get them to see deeper into the music than they saw before and learn more about worlds different from their own (or find new ways of looking at the worlds they already know)—to find their own meanings and connect them back to their own lives. I want readers to see the craft and learn the context—and I want them to still be able to feel the magic, and enjoy the show. —JAY-Z, from the new Afterword
One day before the release of his highly anticipated debut album, Jermaine snags the cover story on Complex which was written by his college roomate; touching down on his struggles to break into the game. Nice read…
Link: J. Cole: In The Zone
The Forbes Hip-Hop Cash Kings charts pretax earnings for all living artists whose work is primarily classified as hip-hop or rap – came up on top and Diddy right behind him, while notably Nicki Minaj became the first female rapper ever to appear on the list.
The full Top 20 list follows.
1. Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, $37 million;
2. Sean “Diddy” Combs, $35 million;
3. Kanye West, $16 million;
4. Dwayne “Lil Wayne” Carter, Bryan “Birdman” Williams, $15 million (tie);
6. Marshall “Eminem” Mathers, Andre “Dr. Dre” Young, Calvin “Snoop Dogg” Broadus, $14 million (tie);
9. Aliuane “Akon” Thiam, $13 million;
10. Christopher “Ludacris” Bridges, $12 million;
11. Cameron “Wiz Khalifa” Thomaz, Aubrey “Drake” Graham, $11 million (tie);
13. Pharrell Williams, $10 million;
14. Timothy “Timbaland” Mosley, $7 million;
15. Kasseem “Swizz Beatz” Dean, Onika “Nicki Minaj” Maraj, $6.5 million (tie);
17. William “Rick Ross” Roberts, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Armando “Pitbull” Perez, $6 million (tie);
20. Faheem “T-Pain” Najm, Bobby “B.o.B” Simmons, Jr., $5 million (tie)
When he was nine, Frank Ocean’s godfather subscribed him to Robb Report, a magazine for the ultra-rich. Less interested in fiduciary smarts, it’s a catalog of conspicuous consumption, highlighting tropical vacations, invaluable antiques and, as Ocean came to know, really expensive cars. Though he comes from a middle class family, he obsessively read the magazine’s classified ads, fixating on exorbitantly priced used Bentleys and Maybachs. “I would just fall in love with all their cars. That was the start.” Ocean, whowas born Christopher Breaux (and goes by Lonny to friends), downscaled his material desires, and when he was 13, began going door-to-door, detailing cars for cash. “I would bring all my supplies. Literally, it was like a movie, I had a wagon, those long red wagons, like a Radio Flyer-type wagon, and I used to buy my own soaps.
Foxy Brown, miss Ill Na Na herself, sat down with the NY Post to discuss everything under the sun from the Mooning incident, how being a diva is not a good look, going to jail @ Rikers, her hearing loss and her career in general.
Foxy on her religious ways:
The Foxy character and Inga Marchand are two different people,” she continues. “My fiancé calls me Inga. No one around me calls me Foxy. I go to church every Sunday. I go to Bible study every Friday night. I’m saved.”Foxy talks her childhood:
All my friends were in the park smoking weed and getting pregnant,” she says. “I didn’t want to be the young black girl having a baby, a baby’s father, being on welfare. That wasn’t going to be my story. I wanted to be a criminal-justice attorneyFoxy talks Prison:
Even in a Rikers jumpsuit, she was every inch the diva. “You’d have thought Obama was in the building when I walked in: The girls loved me,” she says. “The officers were jealous because I was getting hundreds of thousands of letters a week.” She even shot a photo spread for a hip-hop mag while in jailFoxy talks going Deaf
“I lost one of my senses, and that’s the hardest thing I went through,” she says. “It’s a miracle I got it back. I can hear running water again. I can hear my mother say, ‘I love you.’ I’m on an assignment from God.”
She said she plans to become a spokeswoman for the National Deaf Association. She’s also penning a memoir about fame, titled “A Gift and a Curse.”
Read the full article here: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/just_inga_the_real_diva_is_XRIcCN0cQkIMnyOxZF9ZkI#ixzz1SSvWCBUR
Hip-hop mag RESPECT. recently conducted an interview with Odd Future’s Tyler, the Creator, and covers just about everything Tyler, including the origins of Odd Future, his personal lifestyle, musical beginnings and just about everything in between. Excerpts below
How’d you come up with the Odd Future concept?
It was supposed to be a magazine, at first, in my sophomore year. But what 15-year-old do you know—from a single parent—who’s gonna make enough funds with no job to really do a magazine? But it was supposed to be a magazine that sponsored artists. It was me, Left Brain and Hodgy. I like keeping shit in-house. I wanted my friends to be the ones taking the pictures of the people I’d interview, which were my friends who were skateboarders. I’d make advertisements to go in there instead of getting ads from some clothing line.
What were some of the MCs and artists who influenced you the most?
The Black Eyed Peas’ first album, Eminem, Dr. Dre’s 2001 record. I thought I was Usher at one point—not gon’ front. My Way was a tight album. The video with Tyrese? The fuckin’ “My Way” video where they dancing and shit? I could do that whole muthafuckin’ dance. I liked music, it wasn’t just rap music in general. I didn’t know how to play piano ’til [I was] about 13, after I seen Pharrell play during the Clones DVD. I’m a big Neptunes fan, like, die-hard. Name a date—I know when it came out, how many tracks, how long they are. But when I seen him play that piano, I was like, That is the coolest shit ever. I was like, I need to learn how to fuckin’ play piano. My mom never wanted to give me lessons, so I taught myself to play.
But your mother was still supportive, right?
She bought me a keyboard when I was 14. At first I was just playin’ with four fingers, until I learned and taught myself chords. I still can’t read music to this day, still can’t even tell you what chord I’m playing, I just know. It was one summer where I printed [OutKast’s] The Love Below, all the notes, and I tried to learn ’em. I got to “She’s Alive,” number 15 off that album. I learned the first eight bars to that, and I was so happy.
So piano led you to learning how to do full production with drums and creating your own tracks?
I actually started making beats at 12. My mom had a friend, he gave me this [software] called Reason. I produced 80 percent of Bastard on Fruity Loops. I never really went to real studios. I recorded “Yonkers” at a big studio. That was my first experience.
You guys are adamant about how the prominent hip-hop blogs weren’t embracing you. Without their support, how were you guys able to build an audience?
It was word of mouth. But [the blogs] were just not fuckin’ with us. There’s this site called Hypebeast; I’d post on the forums there, and they always showed us a lot of love. I kinda feel like without them, we wouldn’t even be where we’re at now. They were the only ones who took the time out to listen. No one else would fuck with us. They still won’t. I got over it, because out of everyone they post, I’m the most successful of all those little muthafuckas they fucked with. It just made me work harder, made me wanna prove them wrong and show them they’re elitists.
On your new song, “Radicals,” you warn people not to do anything you say in that song. Are you really concerned that it will influence unlawful behavior?
That song is going to go two ways: It’s going to be one of the songs that could make me an icon, and that also will be a song that will get me in a lot of fuckin’ heat with a lot of parents… If Columbine is reenacted or some shit, that’s gonna be on my fuckin’ head. Yeah, it’ll be my fault, just like it was Em’s and Marilyn’s and fuckin’ Slipknot’s and all them muthafuckas.
What is your favorite put-down?
I’m not homophobic, but if someone calls you a faggot—I don’t care who you are—you’re going to be like, What? That shit hits. Why not use that for anyone who does anything stupid? I’ve been writing a lot recently, and I have that in a fuckin’ rap where I tell you I’m not homophobic. I have gay friends and shit, so I just use that word on anyone because it hits people.
How’s your lifestyle changed at this point?
I’m not gonna front, I got a little money, but I’ve worked hard for that. That’s from little shows and remixes and shit. I mean, you see I don’t have jewelry on. I just bought a fuckin’ watch—my favorite watch in the world is from eighth grade, that they sold at Burger King. I bought it off eBay, for five bucks. Shit like that matters to me. I don’t buy jewelry. The money I do have, it just goes to cereal, shirts with unicorns and kitties on them and food. I’m finally able to eat now. It’s kinda cool to go to the store and buy some fuckin’ cereal and some cookies and go back to the house.
How are you doing with being recognized now? Are you ready to deal with all the attention?
Every time I’m where I’m at, I gotta take pictures. It kinda sucks because I go there to skate and loiter, but someone will come by, “Can I take a picture? I’m a big fan,” telling me their life story and shit. Another side of me secretly likes it. I get to meet a lot of girls. So it’s chill. You’ll be surprised the type of races that I bring together, which is really cool. The races are cool—the people kinda suck, some of their mentalities. “Oh, you bringing hip-hop back. I’m only down with real hip-hop, under-fuckin’-ground. Don’t sell out. Don’t go mainstream.” Shut the fuck up. I hate those dudes.
You want to be successful, but you want to keep your creative vision. I want to get where I want to be. That’s what I was telling you—I made it on the radio, where you have to make a fuckin’ poppy-ass song, and I did it with the shit I wanted to make. That’s big to me. I only do shit I really, really want to do. A lot of people would ask me to perform at their things—I’ve turned down a lot of shit ’cause I just don’t fuck with it. I mean, sure, that money looks good, but that doesn’t excite me. If it doesn’t really excite me or it’s not on my goal list, I say no. Sometimes I don’t want all this shit on me. Sometimes people only look at me, and I have to remind them that it’s, like, seven other niggas I’m with.
How did Frank Ocean get into the picture?
I talked to Frank on the phone for like two hours once before I even knew him; he was picking my brain because he liked what he was seeing, and he was signed to Def Jam. When we met, he’d come by the studio and watch us work. We just started kicking it. He’s like an older brother. I’d introduce him to shit like skateboarding and us doing mischievous shit like yelling at people and throwing eggs. He introduced me to rich-nigga shit. He was doing the good life, driving a fuckin’ Beemer and doing cool shit I’ve never seen, going to weird-ass restaurants and just changing some of my views. Like now, I want to make a million by 23, shit like that. That’s my deal. I stay in contact with him every day.
You don’t want me to put together a beer summit for you and those bloggers?
Fuck them dudes. I’m over it. I’m not gonna sit here and hate on them no more, but that Grammy speech is directly for them. Yet they haven’t said anything, so that might just be for that eskay dude from Nah Right.
You don’t even drink, right?
Never had a drink in my life—at all. Not ’til Grammy night.
The rest of the interview can be read here.
Right off the success hangover from the release of Big Sean’s debut album Finally Famous earlier this week – Big Sean sits down with Interview Magazine and asks some out of the box questions for the young star.
The crowd went wild when Kanye came out [to perform the song "Marvin Gaye and Chardonnay"]. I saw Jay-Z was there too.
Big Sean: Yeah, that was crazy. I’ve put in a lot of fucking work, man. I take pride in it—I do it for my fan base. I used to ride to school listening to Kanye and Jay-Z. And then having them fools at my show? You know? They were my idols.And then I also saw you were on Jimmy Fallon’s show, which has obviously become the kiss of mainstream life for a lot of great acts.
It was tight man, playing with The Roots. I walked in, and The Roots told me they were fans of my music, and I was like, “Oh shit.” That was crazy. They had to learn songs on my album and had to play them in like an hour. They are one of the most talented bands ever. It was crazy how I was able to tell my story so fast too, because you know they limit your time and it was hard to get it all out.I was definitely impressed—you were able to act like you’ve never told the story of you and Kanye meeting before, even though you’ve told it about a million times. Speaking of which, how do you hold up doing so much press and performing?
Big Sean: If you realize all the stuff I go through every day, man… but it’s definitely better than not doing anything or being home with my mom, and it’s tight that I’m finding my own way in the world and making music that people like. Even though it’s tiring, I’m having the time of my life. I get sick all the time because I get no rest and sleep, but it’s definitely worth it.With all the material you’ve come out with via mixtapes, it’s crazy to think that this is really just the beginning. What’s been the difference between the music you’ve made in the past and making an official, debut album?
There are a lot of sample clearings. Because of that, I couldn’t put out some of the things I wanted to put out. I was really mad about it, but the album is still a really great body of work, and I’m so proud of it. Also, with a mixtape, you can just go in and don’t have to worry about having a single or a hit record on it. You can just have 40 bar verses if you really want. But when you are doing a commercial release, you have to make music that you can play around the world—at concerts, barbeques, stadiums, whatever the occasion might be. It’s definitely a different process, but the thing for me is just to do it well. I can’t wait to use what I learned on this album and apply it to the next album.How involved is the G.O.O.D. Music crew in the material that made it on the album?
They give me creative control. NO ID just went in and made the body of the album—Kanye was always busy, but he would put his hand in there and let me know what was fresh and let me know when he didn’t like stuff. Kanye and me made a couple tracks that didn’t make the album because of sample clearings, and then a couple he wanted to hold onto.It feels like Kanye’s grown so much since “College Dropout,” and the palette of things he’s been inspired by—in terms of music and style—over his career is pretty extensive. Are you starting to feel influenced in the same regard, or is it too early?
I haven’t seen anything too crazy yet. I’ve been around the world once and seen things that have inspired me, but as far as style, I’m pretty into the stuff I’m into and the clothes I like. I think I’ve still got a lot of growing to do as a person—this is my first album, so maybe if you ask me that question later, I’ll have a different philosophy on life. For now, I’ve been concentrating on the music. But what happened with Kanye was music took him around the world, and he was able to intake so much and learn so much about style. I’m pretty sure that will happen to me.Everybody knows you have a great relationship with Kanye, but I’m curious about your correspondences with Jay-Z.
He’s a great guy. He’s like Kanye’s big bro—he’s family. We’ve had dinners where we just kick it with each other and talk and I just soak up knowledge from him. Once, we were in the studio and we just talked for hours—it was just me, him, Kanye and I think NO ID was there, and I was just thinking “Damn, how did I get here?” Jay-Z is definitely a person who doesn’t give a shit and, from an OG’s standpoint, lets you know if you made a mistake so you don’t make another.With so many big stars helping shape your career, I have to ask: where do you see yourself in five years?
That’s a good question. I think I just want to be remembered for my story and as an example to always move on the impulse of your heart, and not give a fuck what people think. When I graduated from high school, the teacher said I was throwing my life away following music, and the same teacher invited me back to speak at the school. I don’t say that to brag, I just want to be an example. I never want to look back on life and say I wish I did something, and I don’t want anybody else to do that. I want my music to and serve as a message for this—my music to ride to, smoke to, have sex to, cry to, and just live to.
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