When you're growing up, your dad is your superhero. Once you've let yourself fall that in love with someone, once you put him on such a high pedestal and he lets you down, you never want to experience that pain again.
Jay-ZShakespeare was a man who wrote poetry. I'm a man who writes poetry. Why not compare yourself to the best?
Jay-ZI keep my enemies close/ I give 'em enough rope/ They put themselves in the air/ I just kick away the chair.
Jay-ZNo one's walking around here perfect. Everyone's gonna make mistakes. That's part of how you learn.
Jay-ZI noticed that difference early on, like if you were successful in rock 'n' roll, that was a really bad thing, you almost had to hide it. You had these guys selling 200 million records with dirty T-shirts on. I was like, 'Come on, man. Come on. We know you're successful.' Hip-hop is more about attaining wealth. People respect success. They respect big. They don't even have to like your music. If you're big enough, people are drawn to you.
Jay-Z