Jay-Z says his mom didn't want to come out

Jay-Z’s mother earned her fair share of attention after her appearance on her son’s album 4:44.

In track Smile, Jay-Z raps about his mother being a lesbian.

‘‘Momma had 4 kids but she’s a lesbian/had to pretend so long that she’s a thesbian/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.’ Jay-Z spoke about his mother’s reaction to the song on the Rap Radar podcast.

She originally did not know he was making the song. ‘We just had a beautiful conversation and it led to me making the song, and I didn’t have permission to make the song,’  he started.

‘When she first heard the song, she was like, “Absolutely not,” and I was like, “Man, this is so important.” ‘So many people in the world hiding and things like this and this will help you … That’s how we spoke about that song. I was just so happy at the person she became … It’s one of my proudest songs.’ Read more via Gay Star News