Jay-Z On The Happiness He Felt When His Mother Came Out: 'She Was Free'

Revealing, cathartic, and rather potent, Jay-Z's 4:44 was as much about Shawn Carter, the man, as it was Jay the rapper. One of the album's most intimate moments was "Smile," where the Brooklyn mogul discusses Gloria Carter's sexuality. In an excerpt from the Netflix series My Next Visitor Needs No Introduction with David Letterman, Jay-Z goes in-depth about the moment his mother came out to him.


"Imagine having to live your life as someone else," Jay mentioned. "Right? So you think you're protecting your kids and for my mother to have to live as someone that she wasn't and hide and like protect her kids, didn't aspire to embarrass her kids."


He keeps it up and continues to share how it felt any time Gloria finally told Jay about her lover.


"For her to sit in front of me and tell me, 'I think I love someone.' I mean, I really cried," the "Family Feud" rapper mentioned. "That's a real story. I cried because I was so happy for her that she was free."


On the 4:44 song "Smile," Carter famously intricate the story of his mother and the sacrifices she made for her children. While in the song he raps, "Had to hide in the closet, so she medicate / Society shame and the pain was also much to take / Cried tears of joy any time once you fell in love / Don't matter to me if it's a him or her."


In another clip from the upcoming show Jay mentions why he admires Eminem and Snoop Dogg. Watch the whole episode this Friday (April 6) on Netflix.