JAY-Z is to quit the music business – and his next record, ‘THE BLACK ALBUM’ will be his last.
In an exclusive – not to say slightly unusual – interview with NME he invited us aboard his customised private jet and told us he wants to follow in the footsteps of Eminem and act in a feature film.
Jay-Z told NME: “My plan is to make the next album, ‘The Black Album’, my last. There comes a time when you’ve got to go and challenge yourself with other areas, you know what I’m saying? Take myself out of my comfort zone. Take the safety blanket off.
“I’ll make ‘The Black Album’ and release a book with it at the same time. It’ll be autobiographical. I’ll be working on writing it. Writing’s tough, though. I’ve done basically everything and it’s time to take on new and different channels. I feel that I’m at that point in my career.”
When asked whether he had any special guests lined up for ‘The Black Album’, Jay-Z revealed: “I was trying to work with Prince on the last album, but I had to close it. But he let me use the sample in ’03 Bonnie And Clyde’ [from Prince‘s ‘If I Was Your Girlfriend’] when Beyoncé sings the bridge. So we’ll probably do a song. But probably the last album will be 90 per cent me.”
As for the future, Jay-Z didn’t rule out a move into films: “A feature length film would be cool. I haven’t seen ‘8 Mile’ yet. Maybe not the same storyline but maybe something. It’s a natural evolution for artists.
“I’ve done pretty much everything in hip hop, you know what I’m saying?”