Jay Z quotes
Born
December 4, 1969 New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation
Rapper, businessman.
Jay Z is an American rapper and businessman.
Do you know how many athletes go broke three years after they stop playing? I want to help them hold on to their money. I mean, I know about budgets.
– Jay Z
Everyone who makes music is a good collaborator at their foundation because in order to make music, you have to connect to it in a way that other people can’t.
– Jay Z
Religion is like a personal computer. You let people in if you want to… We’re all gods.
– Jay Z
I’m far from being god, but I work god damn hard.
– Jay Z
My first album didn’t come out until I was 26.
– Jay Z
Religion is like a personal computer. You let people in if you want to… We’re all gods.
– Jay Z
As kids we didn’t complain about being poor; we talked about how rich we were going to be and made moves to get the lifestyle we aspired to by any means we could. And as soon as we had a little money, we were eager to show it.
– Jay Z
I made the Yankee hat more famous than a Yankee can.
– Jay Z
Rosa Parks sat so Martin Luther King could walk. Martin Luther King walked so Obama could run. Obama’s running so we all can fly.
– Jay Z
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.
– Jay Z
Rap for me is like making movies, telling stories, and getting the emotions of the songs through in just as deep a way.
– Jay Z
I think relationships are broken up because of the media.
– Jay Z
The average rap life is two or three albums. You’re lucky to get to your second album in rap!
– Jay Z
The challenge is to get everyone to respect music again, to recognize its value.
– Jay Z
People really feel like music is free but will pay $6 for water. You can drink water free out of the tap, and it’s good water. But they’re OK paying for it.
– Jay Z
Music is everywhere – you consume it every day, everywhere you go. The content creator should be compensated. It’s only fair.
– Jay Z
I’m a mirror. If you’re cool with me, I’m cool with you, and the exchange starts. What you see is what you reflect. If you don’t like what you see, then you’ve done something. If I’m standoffish, that’s because you are.
– Jay Z
I’m just going to make the music I love to make, and I’m going to mature with my music.
– Jay Z
Wherever I go, I bring the culture with me, so that they can understand that it’s attainable. I didn’t do it any other way than through hip-hop.
– Jay Z
I am against discrimination of any kind, but if I make snap judgments, no matter who it’s towards, aren’t I committing the same sin as someone who profiles?
– Jay Z
I don’t sit around with my friends and talk about money, ever. On a record, that’s different.
– Jay Z
I think reviews have lost a lot of their importance now because of the Internet; everyone is experiencing things at the same time.
– Jay Z
The burden of poverty isn’t just that you don’t always have the things you need, it’s the feeling of being embarrassed every day of your life, and you’d do anything to lift that burden.
– Jay Z
Successful people have a bigger fear of failure than people who’ve never done anything because if you haven’t been successful, then you don’t know how it feels to lose it all.
– Jay Z
It was a weird mix of emotions. One day, your best friend could be killed. The day before, you could be celebrating him getting a brand-new bike.
– Jay Z
I’ve never looked at myself and said that I need to be a certain way to be around a certain sort of people. I’ve always wanted to stay true to myself, and I’ve managed to do that. People have to accept that.
– Jay Z
I don’t have any fear of working with Samsung because I’m not gonna let them put a phone on my forehead; that’s just never gonna happen.
– Jay Z
I listen to everything – from Sarah McLachlan and Alanis Morissette all the way down to rap like Scarface, UGK and Lauryn Hill.
– Jay Z
I grew up in Marcy Projects in Brooklyn, and my mom and pop had an extensive record collection, so Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder and all of those sounds and souls of Motown filled the house.
– Jay Z
Belief in oneself and knowing who you are, I mean, that’s the foundation for everything great.
– Jay Z
People wanted to make products based on our child’s name, and you don’t want anybody trying to benefit off your baby’s name.
– Jay Z
Your job is to inspire people from your neighborhood to get out.
– Jay Z