March 22, 2006 @ 4:31 pm

Jay-Z Talks Grammy's, LeBron James and Sells Out CenterStage

by: Mark Lelinwalla

left With a hustler’s mentality and an outright New York swagger, Jay, the President of Def Jam, chopped it up about his feelings on the Grammy’s, the ability to spit rhymes off the top without writing, and the possibility of bringing in NBA superstar LeBron James to play for Brooklyn. Kay, CenterStage’s host and New York Yankees play-by-play announcer, began the interview by having Jay-Z reminisce about the beginning of his career and the moment he realized he was an icon. “I was in Virginia at a record store and I couldn’t get out,” Jay told Kay, recalling the career-changing release of Hard Knock Life, which sold five million units. “It was pandemonium.” When asked about jealously in the music business and the streets, Jay was direct. “I’m more afraid of people in the corporate world that are jealous,” Jay-Z conceded. Kay also questioned Jigga on why he skipped out on the Grammy’s a few years back, despite being nominated. “The Grammy’s used to not show the rap awards and it was like a slap in the face,” Jay-Z told Kay about why he boycotted the show years ago. “It’s like people invite you over to their house for dinner and then tell you, you have to eat in the basement. But they’re [Grammy’s] getting better; they’re getting better.” When asked about his ability to memorize songs without writing them down, Jay admitted to Kay that despite his razor-sharp memory, he has lost about four or five albums worth of songs due to not writing them down. Jay later played word association regarding some of his hip hop peers, by calling the Notorious B.I.G. - “the best rapper ever,” Diddy - “a trendsetter,” Snoop - “the West Coast King” and Beyonce – “one of the best singers of our generation.” Although Jay didn’t reveal any plans on pursuing acting, he did share that he would love to see a modern-day Goodfellas film. Hmm… Sir Hova of Brooklyn, as knighted by Paul McCartney, didn’t allow himself to get too excited over the prospects of recruiting his friend LeBron James to play for his team, the soon-to-be Brooklyn Nets. “Athletes and performers are cut from the same cloth,” Jay said. “But I don’t want to use my friendship [with James] for anything unfair.” Spoken like a true hustler.

Have a news tip? Email us.

Read more vibe.com news headlines.

Article tags: Jay-Z Speaks About Grammy's, Jay-Z On CenterStage, Jay-Z And Michael Kay, Jay-Z And Spitting Rhymes Off The Top, Jay-Z And LeBron James To Brooklyn Nets 

del.icio.us digg Furl Reddit YahooMyWeb

Page printed from:
http://www.vibe.com/news/news_headlines/2006/03/jay_z_talks_grammys_lebron_james_and_sells_out_centerstage/

Return to previous page