Jay-Z Interview: The 25 Best Quotes From His NY Radio Visits

Magic 95.5 Featured Video

Jay-Z has done more interviewing in the last 48 hours than he’s probably done in the last five years–word to Hit-Boy. Following up his unprecedented Twitter QnA he made the radio interview rounds in his hometown of New York City to promote the release of “Magna Carta Holy Grail.”

In the videos below he talks about everything from sports management, his relationship with Damon Dash and Beyonce’s surrogate pregnancy rumors to what the President texts him about and if there will be a “Watch The Throne 2.” If you don’t have time to watch them all (or you’ve gotta really weak mobile signal right now) you can read the best quotes below:

Tweeting [The Breakfast Club]

I actually had fun. That was amazing. I had a great time. It’s addictive. But I can’t be on Twitter. It’s addictive. It’s like weed. I like it but too much of that is not good for me.

I was in a great mood and it’s new rules. let’s just do something different. [Angie Martinez]

Reviews [The Breakfast Club]

I think reviews have lost a lot of their importance now because of the internet, everyone is experiencing things at the same time. You can write a review like the guy from USA Today tomorrow. The critic became important because they got the music two months early because the magazine had a long lead time, they’d get it, they’d sit with it and review it and put it out a month ahead of time. You don’t have the music so you’re reading reviews for a month. Right now the music is coming out tike THIS. People are writing the review in a day. You can’t listen to an album and rate it in a day. It’s impossible to get all the nuances, instrumentation and the words. It’s impossible to do that in 24 hours. So when I see that I say this is all just bullish*t. I can’t put any weight into it….I read two reviews the guy from The New York Times and kid from Allhiphop. They had two different points of view. I felt like his review was just as good as the New York Times review.

The Presidential Inauguration [Angie Martinez]

When we walked out there…the seats were fantastic. It was surreal. It was like a concert when we walked out. We were like “this is not cool, this cold backfire at any second.” It was ratchet.

Texting The President [The Breakfast Club]

I have spoken to him on the phone and texted him yes that’s happened. he’s a regular guy, very heavy into sports. I don’t know if this is breaching national security, but when he was getting elected the second time he said ‘it’s fourth quarter, just give me the ball.’

Cuba Trip [The Breakfast Club]

It’s America. It’s freedom on speech. That goes to show you that it’s all news and entertainment. Not to dry snitch, but do you know how many people went to Cuba? It just happened to hit a news cycle when…I saw all kinds of people out there. The news is like trying to find a great hook. You make a great song and you try to see how many hits you can get.

Kanye West [The Breakfast Club]

When he first came in he wasn’t the artist he is today, but he always aspired to be. When he was the producer he had it in his eyes, “I am the savior of Chicago” and he proved to be prophetic. [Yeezus] is polarizing. It forced you to have an opinion. What tends to happen is someone has to experiment and do it first and artists will sit back and perfect the methods. That pushes the genre forward. He’s the cowboy that runs over the hill and the Indians hit him with the arrows and he comes back ‘there’s a lot of ‘em over there.’ Then we go over there and conquer.

Memphis Bleek [The Breakfast Club]

It’s almost the little brother syndrome because he really grew up with me on the third floor of the same projects. He had the shadow on him the whole time.

Damon Dash Financial Woes [The Breakfast Club]

Dame is a hustler. Dame will figure it out. Dame is a smart guy. What people gotta understand, nothing is going to change the way I feel about Dame. No time or space. no separation or anything. I got love for Damon Dash as I did before. I don’t know if we can be around each other in that way because times have changed. He may be a totally different person. I know I’m a different person. But nothing can erase that era, those times, those memories those fights to get Roc-A-fella where it was….we built something great that is going to be talked about forever. There will always be love there.”

Warning To His Crew [The Breakfast Club]

I remember walking in the studio and it was a small gap…Bleek, Beans and everybody was in there. And I told them that this was the time to flood the market with music because 50 Cent is coming. Four months later “In The Club” hit and it was over and now everybody gotta sit on the sidelines and wait this wave out.

Signing Lil Wayne [The Breakfast Club]

The truth is after I had the meeting with Wayne…I had a relationship with Baby. When I used to go to New Orleans I used to hang out with Baby in the purple Prowler. So I felt it was only right to call him. I called him out of respect and told him I was talking to Wayne. After that we received a letter at our office for like “tortuous interference” from a lawyer and it wall went from there. I would rather lose that situation and do the right thing than the opposite. I could have signed him and told him after. But I did the right thing. I’m cool with that decision.

Lil Wayne’s Beyonce kidnap shot [The Breakfast Club]

It’s part of the sport and competition. I didn’t take it serious. I didn’t view it as a threat. I thought it was a flip of a line that I said “you ain’t got my wifey money.” I wasn’t really speaking to him, but he’s holding the flag so he did the right thing for his camp.

Influence Of Biggie [The Breakfast Club]

Steele sharpens steele. The album we were working on together would’ve only made me better. That’s God’s plan. I personally don’t believe anybody could stop me.I was destined to be here.

Sports Management [The Breakfast Club]

They have that thing that belief that you can only do one thing. We’re inflicted with that disease. I can walk and true gum. What does he know about sports? Everything. More than you. Those guys have been sitting around just doing the typical thing. They get an athlete and knock on the same doors and sit back. They’ve been sitting for 20 or 30 years doing the same thing. Me coming is a problem for them. Now they have to wake up and do things for these athletes. I’m gonna do more for the athlete than they’re going to do for me at the end of the day. I do this as an extension of the bigger goal, for all of these artists to get their just due…They don’t care about these guys, that’s why they go broke in four years. it’s a shame that guys sign for $90 Million are broke in four years. That’s terrible money management.

Miley Cyrus [Angie Martinez]

People want her to be Hanna Montana and she’s like ‘I’m not that, I was 6 years old.’ That must be really frustrating. Maybe it’s loud but it’s understandable. There’s room [for her] on the [Roc Nation] roster.

5 Percent Chain [The Breakfast Club]

Religion is like a personal computer. You let people in if you want to….We’re all gods.

TV Watching [The Breakfast Club]

Watches HBO, sports. not nickelodeon. No reality shows. There’s 18 layers before that happens.

Timbaland [The Breakfast Club]

Me and Tim have always been great but we’ve never been able to do more than one record together. It was a personality thing. It wasn’t clicking. We’ve always had genuine love for each other but it use wasn’t right. And then finally when he came back this time he was a different person. We’ve been together since the year started.

Just Blaze [The Breakfast Club]

We just didn’t find that zone. The thing with Just Blaze and I we have records that people really care about like PSA and You Don’t Know. When we’re trying to make music we’re trying to beat THAT. IT’s not a blank sheet when he walks in the room. With Tim we did Big Pimpin and Dirt off your shoulders. Those are hits. We can always find a zone. The Just Blaze records are like the foundation of my career. So we’re in there trying to beat those and that’s hard for us to do. That takes time. We both need to focus if we’re going to do anything to stand up to those.

Roc-A-Fella Reunion [The Breakfast Club]

The past is the past. We’ll do shows together in Philly like we did last year when it makes sense but I never try to recreate the past. I don’t think it ever works when you try to recreate something. PEople just look a little slower. Moves ain’t the same.

Working With Justin Timberlake [The Breakfast Club]

Everyone has to respect everyone’s choice and time. It just wasn’t’ time for us to link up yet. the time was just now. There was no deep conversation about it.

Influence of Young Chris [The Breakfast Club]

With all due respect to Chris he’s an amazing artist but I made records before Chris and after. It’s just weird to me.

Robert Dinero [The Breakfast Club]

*shrugs* I treat people based on who they really are, not the name. Everyone has to be respectful and be a human being. No one’s above…That’s how I carry it with anybody.

Beyonce Baby Rumor [The Breakfast Club]

That’s probably the most ridiculous one I’ve ever heard. The fact that people are really running with it and doing followups. IT started going so far. Ya’ll really believe this. It’s messed up because the time you supposed to be most joyous and have life in you to have to deal with that. Whether you say you care about it or not it’s annoying and you shouldn’t have to care about it as a human being.

Nas Friendship after beef [The Breakfast Club]

It was a moment in time and it was a great moment in hip-hop but we have a really good relationship. That thing is 11 years old maybe longer and people are still fascinated with it. Bt it’s so far removed. We’re not awkward around each other at all. Rap is a competitive sport. Every time I went out I put my career on the line. That’s just the nature of rap.

Samsung Glitches [The Breakfast Club]

In that instance I was the cowboy running over the hill. Anytime you try to do something different–and you should always try to push forward–whatever you do there is going to be problems. There were 20 million hits to the app, over a million people trying to get the app and it broke. You can’t even prepare service for that. It was a little disheartening to me. Because I can’t image in waiting for Rakim’s album at 12 o’clock and I couldn’t get it. For me that’s not cool. That’s a loss and it has to get better. The next person is gonna now know how to get it better. I’ll take the hit for that.

Watch the videos below!

On Hot 97 with Angie Martinez: