JAŸ-Z in 8 is four episodes in and has been insightful so far.
We covered the first three episodes after an exclusive screening a few weeks back on Sept. 13 — and on the red carpet, JAŸ-Z told Billboard that none of the conversations he had were “difficult,” even when he dug deeper into the some of the feelings he had when making some of his most emotional records.
Take a song like “You Must Love Me,” which he covered in the third episode for instance, when he rapped early on in his career about the guilt and shame he felt when he notoriously shot his brother in his shoulder, and the collateral damage he caused when dealing drugs. It’s always been a song that his core fanbase has revered — and he spoke on how the booth became therapeutic for an introvert such as himself. In there, he can say things that he would never say in a conversation with other people. That In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 track is one of his rawest songs to date.
I use that as an example to intro our takeaways from episode four because he and Rick Rubin start this one off with “Where Have You Been,” a song featuring Philadelphia rapper Beanie Sigel, where the two of them give one of the most heart-wrenching performances ever recorded on wax as they rap about the traumatic experience they had growing up without their fathers around. As Jay and Rick broke this song down, the Brooklyn MC revealed that he eventually made amends with his pops, only to lose him about a month later. It’s truly a sad set of circumstances, and gives insight into an artist who has been known for keeping certain feelings close his vest.
The rest of the episode took on a lighter note, though, as Jigga talked about his studio habits and process, the Best Rapper Alive convos people were having during his In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 era, and the now-iconic look of him wearing a bulletproof vest over a white t-shirt while wearing a Rolex.
Check out the four key takeaways we had from JAŸ-Z in 8‘s fourth episode below.
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Daddy, Where Have You Been?
If you’re familiar with Jay-Z’s story, you know that he didn’t really have the best relationship with his father. During a conversation about the song “Where Have You Been,” he revealed that he finally saw his father for the first time since he was a kid while he was making The Black Album, but not after having to go through some of those same things that led to them falling out in the first place.
His mother convinced him to have a conversation and he agreed, however his father flaked on him which led to those bitter feelings to come back up to the surface. Yet, Jay still mustered up the courage and put his ego aside for his mother after she pleaded with him to give his father one more chance. They ended up finally meeting and had one of those mature, life-altering conversations that you didn’t know you could still have after reaching a certain point in adulthood.
The thing is, after finally rekindling his relationship with his dad and helping him get on his feet and put him in an apartment, his father — who he described as a cool dude and good at basketball — sadly passed away a month later from a bad liver, due to his years of drinking and doing drugs. It was a rare moment of vulnerability for Jay, and one of the deeper conversations in the series so far.
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His Studio Habits & Process
One of the more interesting things about artists of the Jigga Man’s stature is their studio habits. There’s great stories about other rappers, like Eminem how treats his studio time like a 9-5, sticking to a strict schedule and even taking a lunch break. On the hand, there’s someone like Ye (formerly Kanye West), who works all hours of the day and night and does things like take the entire production crew and contributors to Hawaii, like he did when he was making My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Jay’s routine, like his personality, is a bit more laid-back. He said he usually strolls in around 2-3 p.m. in the afternoon, and stays there until 10:00 p.m., going so far as to saying, “You could set your clock to it.” He also said that he rarely recorded overnight, and would often work with producers to edit the music under his vocals in post production, telling Rick Rubin that “Song Cry” sounded completely different at first.
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Who’s the Best Rapper Alive?
There’s a famous line Jay has in the first verse of his classic song “Where I’m From” from his sophomore album In My Lifetime, Vol. 1, where he raps, “I’m from where n—as pull your card, and argue all day about/ Who’s the best MCs, Biggie, Jay-Z or Nas?” And admits that he purposely inserted himself into a conversation that didn’t necessarily align with the reality of what actually happened during that specific period.
“I actually was inserting myself into an argument that I wasn’t even in yet,” he confessed. “You know, they were talkin’ about me heavy on a street level, but I hadn’t had mainstream success — and these guys was already pretty much mainstream artists.” It worked more as a hot line at the time, but also ended up being prophetic, as he’s now widely considered at a top 5 MC, if not the GOAT, by many.
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Jigga With the Vest & the Rollie
While still on the subject of the era between his debut album and his rise to commercial stardom with the release of Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life, he talk about wearing a bulletproof vest during a photoshoot as he was crafting his second album and filming Streets Is Watching. He explained that he still had a foot in the drug game and was actually in the middle of a war with a rival crew, and was wearing the vest more for function than for style as he was trying to make the transition from the street to the fame.
Jay said he pulled up to the shoot rocking the vest and the photographer liked the look so much, he convinced him to keep it on. The visual of him wearing the bulletproof vest over a white t-shirt and a Rolex has become one of his more iconic looks. He revealed that one of the first times he met the late Nipsey Hussle, the West Coast MC brought the look up — and he brought the vest out during his three shows at Yankee Stadium this past summer.
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