Jay-Z Speaks On Marriage, Infidelity And Mom Being Gay

Rapper and business mogul Jay-Z in an interview with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Dean Baquet, executive editor of The New York Times, opens up about his life with pop star Beyoncé and their marital challenges.

In the interview, he also talked on many subjects likes growing up and finding out that his mother was gay, the state of rap music and the position of the black man in President Trump's America.

Jay-Z discusses rap, marriage and being a black man in Trump’s America with T Magazine

On his marital difficulties, Jay-Z did imply that he cheated on his wife. However, unlike most couples who would think of divorce as the best option to resolve marital woes, he said they chose to use music - Beyoncé "Lemonade" album and his "4: 44" album - to resolve their issues and solidify their marriage. Jay-Z also stated that he had to seek therapy at some point.

Jay-Z is featured on the Cover of in T Magazine Dec. 3 Holiday issue, with a portrait created exclusively for T by Henry Taylor. Learn more about Taylor’s process and work in T’s studio visit.

BAQUET: You can't connect because of the way you feel about yourself, you mean?

JAY-Z: Yes. In my case, like it's, it's deep. And then all the things happen from there: infidelity ...

“You know, most people walk away, and, like, [the] divorce rate is like 50 percent or something ’cause most people can’t see themselves. The hardest thing is seeing pain on someone’s face that you caused, and then have to deal with yourself. . . . So, you know, most people don’t want to do that. You don’t want to look inside yourself. . . . And so you walk away.”

In the interview, the rapper claimed his painful childhood affected him and the way he treated women. He also made it clear that he never had a conversation with his mother Gloria Carter regarding her being gay until recently. Their relationship is much stronger now and they are comfortable talking about her love life.

On where he thinks rap stands now and his position in the industry, Jay-Z replied "I think that rap in particular is a young man's sport, that I'll move out of that white-hot space. Rap is about the gift of discovery. The white-hot space is when it's fresh and new, and it's like, this is the hottest song ever. I mean I pushed the window, like —"

BAQUET You still — you think you're still in that space?

JAY-Z I stretched it. Oh, I stood in that window a really long time. But still, no, I don't think people are looking to me as like, The Thing.

Jay-Z and Dean Baquet, in Conversation