Jay-Z Covers GQ Magazine

12 years ago view-show 884,268

This year Jay-Z will cover GQ’s annual “Men of the Year” issue. They’ve dubbed him their 2011 King and the issue is set to hit newsstands November 22nd. Hov gets personal on us and opens up on everything from his childhood without his dad, to Bey’s pregnancy, and more thoughts and insight on Watch the Throne. Check the photos and click here if you want to read the article now.

Jay says that even songs like “Niggas in Paris”—the one with the Blades of Glory samples and the crazy-consumptive What’s Gucci, my nigga? What’s Louis, my killa? hook—or “Otis,” where Kanye actually refers to what they’re doing as “luxury rap,” effectively handing detractors a stick to beat the record with, come from a humble place. “It’s not, like, ‘We’re here! We’re balling harder than everybody,’ ” he says. “It’s like, ‘I’m shocked that we’re here.’ Still being amazed, still not being jaded. Having so much fun and then stopping and saying, ‘What are we doing here? How did we get here?’ “

The key line, Jay says, is the one that goes If you escaped what I escaped, you’d be in Paris getting fucked up too.

“I’ve known so many people that didn’t make it,” he says. “Most people can look at a picture of the kids they grew up with and it’s like, ‘Oh yeah—Adam went away to Harvard.’ This is a whole different conversation.”


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