The most poignant track on JAY-Z's new album 4:44 is 'Smile', which features his mom.
On it, Hov speaks on Gloria Carter's sexual identity, which he says both he and she hid over the years.
[Related: Stream JAY-Z's new album 4:44.]
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," Jay raps.JAY-Z also lets his mom tell her story in her own words during a spoken word outro:
Living in the shadow / Can you imagine what kind of life it is to live?” Mrs. Carter says. “In the shadows people see you as happy and free / Because that’s what you want them to see./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.”Hov was one the first rappers to come out strong for LGBTQ rights.
Now we know how personal it was to him.