Jay-z Anything

[Jacinto Dieujuste]

"I'm not a rapper, but I was like, man, I haven't ever heard anything where people are talking about Montrachet or the Cahors wine region or anything like that," Reed told Wine Spectator. " I just wanted to do something cool and different for the wine industry."

Reed worked as the wine consultant to NBC's Grand Crew TV sitcom, which ran for two seasons, and he's also worked with LeBron James' Uninterrupted media company. He even has his own YouTube show, Wine and Culture LA, where his interview subjects have included Cedric the Entertainer and James' longtime business partner Maverick Carter.

For those who listen closely, Reed has dropped plenty of insider wine references into his lyrics, from "Warhols on my Rothschild" to "That movie Sideways is sideways / We love Merlot (let's go)," and Jay-Z's Ace of Spades Champagne gets an obligatory shoutout. Reed published an annotated version of the lyrics for anyone who'd like to cross-reference their references.

It turns out the world's greatest pairing (wine and cheese) also applies to cover songs, as Vermont cheese icon Jasper Hill Farm has also just released a music video, this one dedicated to their passion for cheesemaking.

Enjoy Unfiltered? The best of Unfiltered's round-up of drinks in pop culture can now be delivered straight to your inbox every other week! Sign up now to receive the Unfiltered e-mail newsletter, featuring the latest scoop on how wine intersects with film, TV, music, sports, politics and more.

A while back I did an interview with the band N*E*R*D. Now, Pharrell Williams and his crew have been interviewed hundreds of times so I was quite surprised when he commented, This is one of the most impressive interviews I've ever experienced in my life. Seriously.

After the interview I asked Pharrell if he could hook me up with Jay-Z, because Jay-Z and N*E*R*D were going to be playing the upcoming Pemberton Music Festival in Pemberton, British Columbia, Canada. Pharrell agreed, but in the months following I didnt get any indictation that the interview with Jay Z would ever happen. In other words, I had totally lost hope. That was until the morning of the day of gig, when I got an email that Pharrell would hook me up. Suddenly scrambling into action, I then got in my car and drove 6 hrs to the Pemberton Festival . ( The drive usually takes 2 hours, however heavy traffic really slowed things down! ) Upon arrival, Sean Lala from Spectrum Events guided me backstage to look for Pharrell. N*E*R*D had played earlier however Pharrell was nowhere to be found. Luckily, Shay from N*E*R*D was kind enough to call Pharrell up on his iphone. Pharrell then emailed Jay-Z, called Jay-Z and sent Jay-Z a text message and Jay-Z agreed to do an interview with me. The first thing Jay-Z said to me was that Pharrell had been calling him all day, asking him to do an interview with me. Amazing

Jay-Z: I never understood. I really didnt understand it at first. It was like, you're calling me to do an interview? What the fuck does that mean? [laughs] What does that mean? He just said that your knowledge is extensive and he knows that I appreciate people that, no matter what you do, whether you paint art, or you make records, or you do interviews, or you're a writer, if you're truly good at your craft, he knows I'm excited by that type of shit. He wanted me to meet you, so here we are. So don't disappoint him.

Jay-Z: Who am I ? I'm a young man from the Marcy Projects who really made that thing that they say "The American Dream" come true. Because I'm not supposed to be here speaking to you. You know, there's a lot of people who come from where I come from, there are a lot of skilled people who were I come from, who are not here right now.

Nardwuar: Right off the bat, going back to the early days of Jay-Z, what can you tell us about Jaz, and the early appearance of a young Jay-Z right there. [Nardwuar pulls out a Jaz Record Word to the Jaz]

Jay-Z: To be very honest with you, if you look , this is not your typical rapper right here. This is not even my album, this is actually Jaz's album. [Pointing to the jewelry he and Jaz and wearing] But if you look on the back of this thing, the cable rope and the four finger ring, that cable was mine. That cobra was a friend of mine, that was mine, that was mine. This anchor was mine. All that was my jewelry because I was a street guy. So you never come into a game and already have all this type of things. So I was an artist who come highly recommended from the street, a real guy from the street.

Jay-Z: Oh, anybody I've been grouped with... excuse me [Jay takes the cigar he has been smoking out of his mouth] I'm a supporter of hip-hop, so ,you know, I support all these people. That's great. Thank you. I appreciate it.

Jay-Z: Well, yeah. Maybe, yeah. Repetition. You know, repetition. Basketball players, that's why they practice every day. They've been playing their whole life but they practice every day because of repetition.

?uestlove: The coolest thing about Jay-Z is that a) he's not lazy... hey, that rhymes, that's crazy...ba-boomp-pa -- no, he's not lazy. And I told him, 'If you want to know all these songs, studies say that if you repeat anything 18 times in a row it will instantly get committed to memory." So at first he was like, "Aw man, Ill just do it like six times or whatever. No. But then he would forget and I said, "Look dude, if you do it 18 times in a row and we'll be straight." So we did a little schedule for like nine days before, four songs a day, you know, three hour rehearsal, take a break, three hour rehearsal, take a break, and that's how he committed it to memory.

Ice T: What happened was, the true story is Brother Marquis made that comment one time, I was with him. And he was like you know "I got 99 problems and a bitch ain't one." So I thought we can make a record off of that, so we call Marquis up and flew him out to L.A. Me and him did the record together, paid him and everything was cool and that was that. Years later, Jay-Z hears the record from Rick Rubin and decides he wants to remake it, remakes the hook and does it. Then, Marquis comes back and hears Jay-Z did it and decides he wants more money, but all the money was already paid out. I didn't get any money from it because I had a publishing deal at the time. So he decides he wants to sue me and all kinds of nasty stuff which friends shouldn't do to each other, but that's the true story. Nothing's happened since then. You know, it's kinda water under the bridge, you know, but the first "99 Problems" was done by myself and Brother Marquis from 2 Live Crew.

Jay-Z: Well, you know, I didn't really have any problems with the Canadians. The Glastonbury thing, it was this great thing because... it wasn't really a backlash, it was just a couple people stating their opinion of who they thought should play Glastonbury and Noel (Gallagher) was actually vocal about it. So it just happened.

Jay-Z: You know, we appreciate being here, you know, and we love the opportunity. And if you guys could help out like the whole Canadian culture tell the guys at customs to ease up a little bit. Seriously.

Jay-Z responded to criticism from Florida lawmakers about he and his wife Beyonc's wedding anniversary trip to Cuba, releasing a new song, "Open Letter," an early reference to being a "boy from the hood but got White House clearance" predictably yielded a lame response from the White House, with Jay Carney offering to reporters that "nothing rhymes with Treasury." The Treasury department is responsible for licensing travel to Cuba, permitted only for cultural/educational activities. Though the Obama Administration has eased the licensing a bit, it remains difficult for Americans to visit Cuba legally. The Treasury Department, for its part, says it didn't know it had cleared Jay-Z and Beyonc for the trip to Cuba, claiming that the procedures for licensing "people-to-people" (cultural) trips doesn't require the tour-organizer to provide a list of attendees, just an itinerary. In his response Jay-Z rejected political connections, rapping "Politicians never did shit for me except lie to me, distort history."

In taking umbrage at lawmakers targeting his trip to Cuba, in his song Jay-Z suggested to them: "let me commit a real crime, I might buy a kilo for Chief Keef, out of spite, I just might flood these streets." But just like it shouldn't be illegal to go to Cuba to celebrate your wedding anniversary, it shouldn't be illegal to buy a kilo for $17k. Jay-Z, an Obama supporter who nevertheless has said "we need less government" missed an opportunity to highlight the absurdity of both the Cuban travel ban and the war on drugs.

Instead, he moved on to rebuffing critics of his divestment from the New Jersey Brooklyn Nets ("I made millions off it," Jay-Z boasts). That profit, of course, would be impossible without the government being there to bulldoze anything in the way of getting the stadium (in which Jay-Z is also still invested) built. So Jay-Z boasts of the fruit of what politicians did for him in the same song he denies they ever did.

JAY-Z's song "Anything" is a heartfelt tribute to the people who have shaped his life and the lengths he would go to for them. The song opens with a powerful declaration of his willingness to risk everything for those he loves, setting the tone for the rest of the lyrics. This theme of sacrifice and loyalty is a recurring motif throughout the song, as JAY-Z reflects on his relationships with friends, family, and mentors.

In the first verse, JAY-Z reminisces about his close-knit group of friends, referring to them as his brothers. He recounts their shared struggles and triumphs, emphasizing the deep bond they share. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of their journey from the streets to success, highlighting the loyalty and support that have been crucial to their achievements. The line "Run up the heaven doors, exchange my life for yours" underscores the depth of his commitment, suggesting that he would even give up his own life for his friends.

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