For years, there have been reports that Jay Z's mother is gay. The hip-hop mogul and his mother have now confirmed the reports in his new album, 4:44 where he spilled a lot about his family, including his marriage to Beyonce.
JAY-Z and his mother
American rapper and businessman, Shawn Corey Carter, popularly known as JAY-Z, who is one of the best-selling musicians of all time, has revealed his mother's sexuality, saying that his mother is a lesbian in surprise pro-gay track on his new album, 4:44.
Beyoncé’s husband dropped his long-awaited new album 4:44 on his streaming service Tidal this week, and one of the tracks on the album, 'Smile', features his mother Gloria Carter, who revealed publicly for the first time that she is a lesbian.
Jay-Z raps: “Push through the pain so we can see new life/So all the ladies havin’ babies, see a sacrifice
“Mama had four kids, but she’s a lesbian/Had to pretend so long that she’s a thespian
“Had to hide in the closet, so she medicate/Society shame and the pain was too much to take
“Cried tears of joy when you fell in love/Don’t matter to me if it’s a him or her
“I just wanna see you smile through all the hate/Marie Antoinette, baby, let ’em eat cake”.
His mum, Gloria Carter also features on the track, referencing her sexuality.
She raps: “Living in the shadow/Can you imagine what kind of life it is to live?
“In the shadows people see you as happy and free/Because that’s what you want them to see.
“Living two lives, happy, but not free/You live in the shadows for fear of someone hurting your family or the person you love.
“The world is changing and they say it’s time to be free/But you live with the fear of just being me.
“Living in the shadow feels like the safe place to be/No harm for them, no harm for me
“But life is short, and it’s time to be free/Love who you love, because life isn’t guaranteed.”
Jay-Z previously supported same-s*x marriage. In an interview with CNN, he said banning gay people from getting married was “discrimination, plain and simple”, and “no different than discriminating against blacks”.
He said: “What people do in their own homes is their business and you choose to love whoever you love.”