In His Next Lifetime

• Share

(2 of 2)

Last summer Jay-Z took the first vacation of his life. "Went to the south of France, Sardinia, Corsica, Monte Carlo. For a month I didn't do anything," he says. "We saw some things. We lived life. And that pretty much sealed the retirement." The use of we is as close as Jay-Z comes to talking about his relationship with Beyonce, but he says he sees a future in which he has kids ("the biggest thing missing in my life"), runs Roc-A-Fella and maybe even takes over as president of his corporate music parent, Universal Records. "I really want to make music that lasts. People in the business are chasing hot records, but a hot record is only hot for six months," he says. "Sing me the lyrics to The Thong Song," he challenges.

The problem is that Jay-Z may not be able to outrun his legacy. He begins any criticism of the state of rap with "You know, I love hip-hop ..." but he believes that the numerous rappers behind him on the ladder lack his style and have turned rap into a much crasser art form. Jay-Z has always had fairly catholic tastes, but he now finds himself listening more to John Mayer and Coldplay than to rap. "There's not a bunch of hip-hop artists that you can relate to once you hit 30," he says. "I think, unfortunately, rap music is made to destroy itself. You have to be fresh and sell to an audience that's 16 to 25. They demand that you 'keep it hood,' 'keep it real.'" He says this sadly, but he can't deny responsibility. Today's records show: rap artists are doing it his way.