Jay-Z Covers XXL Oct. 2009
…Came through and crushed the building.
CRITICISM OF āD.O.A.ā: āIām not hating on young people. Like, when people say that, Iām like, What are you talking about? Itās just stupid. Iām not hating on young people⦠Iām not Bill Russell, [saying] Michael Jordan aināt shit. Iām saying Lil Wayne and Kanye are like LeBron and Kobe. My job as someone at the forefront of the game is to leave it in a better position than when I came in. Same way that Russell [Simmons] left it to me. āCause this thing saved my life. Literally. So I have a responsibility to it karmically. And after that itās on you. I did my part. I made āD.O.A.ā I said it. I made the statement. I made the push. Here, yāall take it from here.ā
HIS LEGACY AS FORMER DEF JAM RECORDS PRESIDENT: āSo if you ask me to grade my performance as the president, Iād say A-plus. No one can bat a 100. Itās impossible. I mean, everyone is looking at my shit. But if we really looked under the hood [of] every single [record exec] and the acts they put out in that time, Iād be comparable to anyone.ā
HIS STANDING IN THE GAME: āØāBut when I say Iām the best, I donāt say that outta my ass. I say that with all my stats behind me. I put that against anybody. I mean anybody. I really believe that⦠I believe in a lot of things. āØI believe that āSportsCenterā is the best thing on TV. I shouldnāt have to prove it. But I do have these stats to prove it. Iām talking about real run. Iām not talking about years off. Iām talking about straightāboom, boom, boomāback to back. Weāre not talking about heritage acts either. Weāre not talking about respect what Iāve done. Iām talking No. 1 [albums] 10 times. The Beatles is the only one [to have more āØNo. 1 albums]. They got 19, and if I get a surge of creativity, I could make nine albums next year.ā
Props: XXL
