JAY-Z’s Mother Didn’t Approve Of The “4:44” Song Publicly Outing Her Sexuality

JAY-Z’s Mother Didn’t Approve Of The “4:44” Song Publicly Outing Her Sexuality! The inimitable JAY-Z sat down with Elliott Wilson and B. Dot of the Rap Radar Podcast earlier this month for an extensive interview, which they broke into two parts. The second half of the interview has arrived and finds Hov opening up more about his family, specifically his mother Gloria Carter.

The Hip Hop mogul confessed he didn’t exactly have her blessing for the song “Smile,” the 4:44 track that divulges she’s a lesbian.

“We just had a beautiful conversation and it led to me making the song, and I didn’t have permission to make the song,” JAY admitted. “When she first heard the song, she was like, ‘Absolutely not,’ and I was like, ‘Man, this is so important.’ So many people in the world hiding and things like this and this will help you … That’s how we spoke about that song. I was just so happy at the person she become … It’s one of my proudest songs.”

JAY also discussed how much he admires his mother, who he equates to the late poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou.

“It’s a beautiful story,” he said. “I was just so proud. I’ve always had love for my mother. I always looked up to her. Man, she’s so fucking dope. My mom has been dope her whole life. She’s just a dope person. Listen to her, she sounds like Maya Angelou. Her pacing, her voice is just so regal. She’s a speaker. Our relationship developed to another level as I started getting to know myself.”