Back in the day, Jay-Z used to be able to balance his entrepreneurship with his rapping. Over time, it became clear that the scales tipped further away from hip-hop. “I’m not a businessman, I’m a business, man,” he once rapped on “Diamonds From Sierra Leone.” It’s been seven years since we last heard from Hov for a solo album. He’s done a handful of features and a couple collab projects with his wife Beyoncé and Jay Electronica. But it’s mostly been quiet. Why? His old Roc-a-Fella cohort Memphis Bleek has an idea of why it’s taking Jay-Z so long to release new music.
Recently, Bleek spoke with Shannon Sharpe for his Club Shay Shay podcast. There, he notes that Jay has always wanted to be known more as a businessman. Historically, Hov has talked about retiring since his first and second album. He’s pump faked a retirement once before after The Black Album. Bleek makes it sound like rapping is a bug for Hov, an itch that he has to scratch every once in a while.
Memphis Bleek Says It’s Always Been Business Over Rap for Jay-Z
“Jay always been the businessman,” Bleek explains. “If you go back to his first album, second album; around that time, he always was talking about retiring after his first album. Then he was like, ‘I’mma retire after the second album.’ He never wanted to do this and be this glamorous superstar; he wanted to be the biggest businessman. So that’s why, if you see, music is the backbone, but his business is his personality. You know what I mean? That’s who he is: the businessman. And that’s what overshadows the music.”
Ultimately, Jay-Z needs something new and fresh to try for as an artist. Without going back and forth for the top spot, there’s no pressing motivation to make anything. “Jay needs to be challenged to do music. Not saying that somebody need to diss him or competition. He just feels like there’s no one on his level,” Bleek continues. “When Eminem was making music, Pun was making music, Biggie, 2Pac, those guys, he had competition to be like, ‘Oh, I got to be number one.’ It’s no competition for Jay now, unless he wants to battle me.”
Despite all of this, Jay-Z is gearing up to release new music, according to Memphis Bleek. It’s just a matter of when apparently.
The post Memphis Bleek Shares Why He Thinks It’s Taken 7 Years for Jay-Z to Release Another Album appeared first on VICE.
