With his and Kanye West’s new album Watch the Throne landing in stores on August 8th, Jay-Z popped into Hot 97’s New York studios for an impromptu interview with Angie Martinez. Speaking with the radio hostess, Hov denied reports today that he and ‘Ye were beefing over a tour budget.
“Kanye is a genius. I kind of want to spend a gazillion dollars,” he said, contradicting reports that Yeezy had no respect for the money aspect of their tour as The Throne. “I think they got it backwards, but it’s all good. I made it. I don’t really… I know that we doing something right now. When I woke up to all of that, I was like, oh yeah, we must be really hot right now. This is really happening. August 8th.”
It hasn’t always been smooth sailing with ‘Ye, though, as Jay explains that they sometimes snap on each other in the studio. But as far as letting their emotions get the best of them, he says nothing could break their bond.
“Yes, we get on each other’s nerves. But that’s part of pushing each other. We push each other. The people that have a problem with Kanye or myself are people who are complacent in life. People don’t like to be pushed. It’s like annoying. It’s a thing when people are pushing you to be greater, and we push each other to be greater. So of course there are times when we’re in the studio and we’re yelling, but that’s about it. I would never disrespect that man. I have so much respect for him.”
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He also jested about his collaborative project with R. Kelly, Best of Both Worlds, which ended in a bitter legal battle after a Jay associate maced Kellz backstage.
“Yeah, that was a tough one. But it’s almost like anything in life. You can’t let that situation affect you going forward,” he said. “Especially working with genius talent. He is a genius talent. It’s just that he has other things on his mind.”
As for the pressure to deliver a classic with Watch the Throne, the Roc Nation chief admitted that he felt some heat.
“I guess a bit after we started it, but I don’t look at it like that. When you make music, you’re against history, you’re against what’s current and you’re against past work. But as far as pressure of what it’s going to sound like, you try not to really let that affect you,” he said. “You have to have a bit of arrogance to say that this is going to be good.”
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Listen to the full interview below, where he also speaks on indie record shops being upset about the album’s rollout, meeting President Obama and J. Cole’s upcoming debut.
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