Jay Gets Cocky In Interview With Gotham Magazine

For those of you tired of the consecutive saga of Beanie Sigel vs. Jay-Z, here is Señor Camel dolo chopping it up with Gotham Magazine..and being cocky:

“I don’t dislike anything about myself,” he says. “I know this sounds a little arrogant but I really accept what God has given me. I’ve got a short temper but I work on controlling it. I can say inappropriate things because I believe them to be true and sometimes that can be hurtful to others. But I think in the long run it is more helpful.” In the midst of one of the most successful hip-hop careers in history
, Jay-Z, who turns 40 next month, has a lot to be thankful for. He was born Shawn Carter in 1969 and grew up in the Marcy Houses project of Brooklyn as “Jazzy.” He was abandoned by his father at 11, shot his older brother for stealing at 12 and sold crack at 13. It wasn’t until he released his first album, Reasonable Doubt, in 1996 on his label Roc-a-Fella Records that the then 26-year old left drug dealing, gangs and poverty behind. “[Making music] is a gift from God,” he says. “I put it to the side for so long because it was so easy. It took me a while to really know it was my true calling. I wanted to tell my story.” Friends, family and privacy matter most at this point in Jay-Z’s life. He’s a mentor to artists like Rihanna and Kanye West. The most important thing on the horizon seems to be a plan to have children with Knowles, whom he wed on the roof of their Tribeca building last year. He keeps his perspective by remaining close with his family, all of whom work with him in some capacity. (His mother runs a scholarship program he developed.) He even made good with his estranged father before his death.

“Making music is art,” he continues. “It doesn’t change who you are as a person. It doesn’t mean you’re entitled or you’re above the law. You still treat people as human beings. It doesn’t change the laws of the universe. Life has a balance and for every action there is a reaction. So if you put negative energy in, negative energy comes back to you. You have to live your life within the laws of the universe and I haven’t lost sight of that. You have to be close with your foundation and the people who know you best because they’ve known you for so long that they can see the changes in you,’ he continues. “Fame is such a deadly drug that you can’t see the changes because you are so consumed by it. You need a close-knit group of friends and family to make sure you stay grounded.”

When asked what else he’d like to accomplish, he replies, “Go to the moon.