Decoded

While working the press circuit for his upcoming greatest hits release and new book “Decoded,” Jay-Z has been asked to comment on a variety of topics – including President Obama, the legal woes of Lil Wayne, his friend Kanye West and his infamous comment regarding President George Bush.

“It was bad timing, but it was absolutely an honest emotion,” he told Howard Stern Monday of West’s statement that George W. Bush “doesn’t care about black people.”

Continues Jay-Z, “We all felt like that. We didn’t feel like Katrina was a natural disaster. We felt like it was an attack on black people.”

Howard’s sidekick Robin Quivers asked what he thought about pregnancy rumors surrounding his wife Beyonce that seem to pop up at least once a month.

“I really sit back and wonder when people are going to stop. The day that happens, I don’t think Newsday is going to know before my grandmother.”

He added, “Everyone knows I’m married, I just don’t discuss it because it’s a part of my life that I’d rather keep private.”

“Decoded,” meanwhile, provides unique insight into what shaped and continues to shape the 40-year-old hip-hop icon, from being abandoned by his father, his early mistakes in the rap game, and his approach to creating the music that has defined rap for almost two decades, notes the Associated Press.

But Jay-Z mainly does it the way he best communicates — through his lyrics. By “decoding” his songs — some famous, some obscure — he offers readers a unique vantage point of the mogul born Shawn Carter.

Below is Jay-Z’s full Q&A with the Associated Press:

The Associated Press: Why did you decide on this kind of book rather than a traditional autobiography?

Jay-Z: I wanted to tell the story of a generation. Through my story, I’m telling the story of a generation of kids, and we grew up in one of the worst eras ever. … Just to tell the story of my generation through music, and through that give a deeper understanding to rap lyrics and to make the case that rap is poetry. … Maybe there is other layers and meanings and things to be decoded in songs.

AP: What were the challenges of putting “Decoded” together?

Jay-Z: The hardest problem was getting the lyrics right, ’cause I don’t write them down, so, we had to find them somewhere, and a lot of those songs I forgot. So I had to listen to them again and then look at the lyrics and then say, “No, that’s wrong.” So the hardest part was really getting the lyrics right.

AP: What was it like going back through songs you hadn’t visited in a while?

Jay-Z: That was fun. It was almost like looking at an old photo album, like going back through those emotions and feelings. Looking at this song was like looking at me with a high-top and the four-finger ring.

AP: You discuss the assault charge you faced early in your career (he received probation). What are your thoughts on stars like Lil Wayne and T.I. who have fallen into those situations?

Jay-Z: The same sort of thing almost happened to me, and I pride myself on being a disciplined person. I was looking out for that sort of thing. I was trying to avoid it, and it still happened to me, so it just goes to show how difficult it is. Once you become a so-called celebrity, your life or your decisions don’t stop. You have to make smarter decisions, because you’ve grown up living your life a certain way. Most people grow up and just smoke weed. … You just smoke weed and think, “OK, I’ll keep weed in my pocket.” Now that you’re a celebrity it’s a whole different sort of thing. … Celebrities need to be conscious and know who they are, because the same choices they made as a civilian will cost them years as a celebrity.

AP: What do you make of President Obama’s recent struggles?

Jay-Z: I believe the same thing about Barack that I believed at day one. What he represents is bigger than any political agenda that he can pass across the House, Senate or whatever. I think that right now he’s going through a difficult period because people are putting the last eight years on his table and they’re judging him by it. You can’t expect a man to clean up eight years of mess in two years; it’s just bad math. It’s impossible.

AP: You talk in the book about how you agreed with what Kanye West had to say about President Bush, but Kanye recently apologized for saying Bush didn’t care about black people during Hurricane Katrina. What are your thoughts on that?

Jay-Z: I think what Kanye went through was, he himself became that, over the Taylor Swift incident. People said he was racist. And he’s not a racist person, so it made him reflect on the comments that he made. But I 100 percent agreed with the comments that he made, because again … it felt like it was being done to black people. Like all you saw on the news was black people on the news with help signs and all this stuff, and then you have this picture of the commander in chief, who we all rely on, just flying by. It’s like, What is that? … If that had happened anywhere else besides New Orleans, would the response (have) been so slow? Would Bush (have) been on the ground? You have to ask these sort of questions. Just the fact that he thinks that the worst thing that happened to him is Kanye saying something about him. Like, what? That alone shows you where his mind is. Are you kidding me?

This is typical Jay-Z. Brush off them haters!

Jay-Z & Beyonce

New rumors claiming Beyonce is pregnant with her first child have flared up via a source for Us Weekly who claims the pregnancy came as a total surprise to the singer and her husband, rapper-mogul Jay-Z.

“B was shocked. She loves kids, but she wasn’t ready to be a mother just yet … She really wanted to get her album done and tour the world again,” the source said.

The magazine also quotes industry veteran Kevin Liles, who has known Jay-Z for years.

“Jay has been all about family since I met him, and he’s always going to be,” he said. “I wish them the best.”

Mike Epps

Nicki Minaj and Jay-Z collected three trophies apiece at Saturday’s taping of the 2010 BET Hip-Hop Awards.

Lil Wayne’s female protégé scored Rookie of the Year, People’s Champ and the Made You Look honor, which was awarded in recognition of her fashion flair.

Sporting a black dominatrix-like outfit, blond bob hairdo, pink nails and lipstick, Minaj took to the stage to accept her first award and was overcome by the recognition.

“Last year, I was here in anticipation of the cypher,” she told the crowd, referring to the artist rap freestyles that run in between the award presentations and performances. “Now I’m here in anticipation of my debut. ["Pink Friday," set for release Nov. 23.]

“I’m paving the way for girls,” she continued. “I wanna thank all the girls of hip-hop.”

Jay-Z, who was a no-show, earned Perfect Combo (for his Alicia Keys-assisted “Empire State of Mind”), CD of the Year (“The Blueprint 3″) and Best Live Performer.

The 2010 BET Hip-Hop Awards, hosted by Mike Epps, is scheduled to air Oct. 12 at 8 p.m. on BET.

Rick Ross earned two awards: the Miami don’s “B.M.F. (Blowin’ Money Fast)” earned Track of the Year for producer Lex Luger, and the industrial-strength number nabbed Club Banger of the Year honors.

Ross also delivered one of the night’s most memorable onstage moments when he, Diddy and DJ Khaled opened the show with a pyrotechnic-enhanced rendition of his award-winning anthem before easing the Atlanta Civic Center crowd into “MC Hammer.”

“B****, I’m MC Hammer,” Ross rapped. “I’m about cream. I got 30 cars, whole lot of dancers/ I take them everywhere, I’m MC Hammer/ Started selling dough, I’m too legit to quit/ When it’s hammer time, I’m pulling out the stick.”

MC Hammer himself then appeared onstage, leading a troop of dancers dressed in ensembles honoring the Marines. The veteran superstar performed his hit “2 Legit 2 Quit.”

B.o.B brought his hometown crowd to its feet with a rousing rendition of his next single, the melancholy “Don’t Let Me Fall.”

Iconic female trio Salt-N-Pepa were honored with the I Am Hip-Hop award. Diddy (Hustler award), Swizz Beatz (Producer of the Year) and DJ Khaled (Best DJ) rounded out the winners. DJ Premier led a tribute to Guru, the late Gang Starr MC.

The ceremony featured seven cyphers, from the father and son pairings of Ice Cube and his two boys rhyming with Reverend Run and Diggy and Jojo Simmons to the Rosewood cypher, which featured Kanye West and his G.O.O.D. Music family: Common, Pusha T, Big Sean and CyHi Da Prynce.

Beyonce joined neighbors in West Orange NJ in a line dance while visiting Jay-Z’s mother. Check her out as she gets it in to “The Wobble” at a local neighborhood block party in New Jersey. Cute!

Warren Buffet & Jay-Z

Rapper/entrepreneur Jay-Z and billionaire investor Warren Buffett cover “400 Richest People In The World” Issue of Forbes Magazine. The duo sat down with Steve Forbes to discuss their success, business ventures, and provide tips on making money.

Thinking independently and looking for truth are key to success in both careers, said Buffett, a fixture on the Forbes list, and Jay-Z, cited by Forbes as likely to make the list by 2015.

“When you come to a conclusion you have to really not care what other people say. Just follow the facts and your reasoning,” Buffett said, adding he learned to think of a stock “not as something with a ticker symbol that wiggles around but to think about it as part of a business.”

Listening to Buffett in the interview, Jay-Z said, “I could just hear all the similarities and all the things in what he’s saying, right?”

“Because if you don’t look at the tickers, you’re really just searching for the truth within all the numbers and all the chaos,” he said. “And that’s the key to being a recording artist. You’re telling your story or finding your truth.”

Jay-Z & Eminem finished out their "Home to Home" tour in NYC and brought out Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Drake, Chris Martin of Coldplay and Beyonce to rock Yankee stadium .

Jay-Z performs at Yankee Stadium

Jay-Z & Drake perform at Yankee Stadium

Willow Smith sat down with Ryan Seacrest for an interview. Willow spoke about the being yourself, her musical inspirations and she even taught Ryan how to whip his hair. Check out the video above.

Willow Smith Promo

The final word has come down and Willow Smith is now a Roc Girl!  Willow was just signed to Roc Nation and Columbia Records...

Nine-year-old actress-turned-singer Willow hit up Ryan Seacrest's morning show this AM to confirm that Roc Nation/Columbia Records is indeed her new label home.  Here's what her famous parents Will and Jada Pinkett Smith had to say:

"After meeting with several record companies, it was clear that Jay-Z, Ty Ty, Jay Brown and the Roc Nation staff was the unquestionable choice. Their passion for Willow combined with their boundless vision and artistic integrity made Roc Nation the perfect home for our little girl."

And here's what Jay-Z had to say:

We at Roc Nation are excited to work with Willow. She has an energy and enthusiasm about her music that is truly infectious. It's rare to find an artist with such innate talent and creativity at such a young age. Willow is about to embark on an incredible journey and we look forward to joining her as she grows in all aspects of her career."

Eminem & Jay-Z

Thursday night marked the beginning of the four-date Home And Home tour featuring Eminem and Jay-Z performing in their respective hometowns of Detroit and New York.

Eminem’s Comerica Park was up first, with the rapper turning in “an exhaustive, guest-filled 100-minute performance that spanned his entire recording career with full or partial performances of 33 songs.

Some 42,000 fans screamed as Slim Shady took the stage yelling, “Goddamn it, Detroit, I’m back, man. Did you miss me, or what?”

B.o.B., who opened the evening with his own half-hour set, recreated “Airplanes Pt. II,” though Eminem band singer Liz Rodrigues subbed for Paramore’s Hayley Williams – as she also did for Rihanna on “Love the Way You Lie” and Dido on “Stan.”

Drake showed up for a version of his hit, “Forever,” proclaiming it an “honor” to perform with “the legend that is Eminem.” 50 Cent joined Eminem for “Patiently Waiting,” then gave the star a break while he performed “I Get Money” and “In Da Club” with G-Unit cohort Lloyd Banks.

Dr. Dre came on stage for “Still Dre” and “Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang,” with Eminem taking up Snoop Dogg’s parts. When Eminem led the crowd in chanting for Dre’s long-awaited “Detox” album, the producer – who sported a Proof T-shirt – promised, “I’m comin’!”

Jay-Z opened the show 30 minutes earlier, pausing for a moment after taking the stage and telling the show’s directors to turn up the house lights so he could soak up the moment.

“This is hip-hop music,” he said, “and this is how far we’ve come.”

His two shows at Yankee Stadium are scheduled for Sept. 13 and 14.

According to USA Today:

Jay-z began his set to a blast of lights and squalling rock, alone at center stage to rap the intro from album “The Dynasty.” From there it was a fast-paced and at times poignant set of hits and medleys that led to a closing climax of “Empire State of Mind” and “Numb.”

Backed by a tight live band, Jay welcomed guests Young Jeezy and Memphis Bleek and paid tribute to fallen stars, including Detroit’s Proof and Aaliyah.

Check out the latest remix to this the streets...Kanye West ft. Jay-Z & Swizz Beatz "Power" remix. Kanye's latest project is slated to hit stores on November 16th.

Me likey!!

Jay-Z and Beyonce on vacation in Italy.

Jay-Z and Beyonce sure know how to take a vacation. The two were spotted cuddled-up, enjoying each other's company in Italy.  Hova's  even rocking his wedding band.  Super cute!

Beyonce and Jay-Z on holiday in Italy

Jay-Z

Jay-Z ripped it at Radio City Music Hall last night during his 2010 World Basketball Festival Tipoff concert.

The Nike sponsored the event debuted the release of Jay-Z 5 custom Air Force 1 designs. Each show is all black with the name of a different country on the heel. They are all being auctioned off starting at $2,025 with proceeds going to the Shawn Carter Foundation.

Jay-Z Nike's

Jay-Z

Jay-Z

Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudamire, and Lebron James

Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudamire, and Lebron James were all there to enjoy the nights events.

D-Wade, Carmelo Anthony & Anthony Anderson chillin

D-Wade, Chris Paul, Spike Lee, Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudamire

Photo Credit: Nunez

Check out the Jay-Z-assisted track with Usher's for, “Hot Toddy” which was produced by Polow Da Don and written by Ester Dean. This is the second single from Usher’s forthcoming EP, Versus.

Versus will be available in stores and online August 24th.