Jay-Z Recalled the 1st Time He Realized Beyoncé Was a ‘Talented Person’
Jay-Z and Beyoncé met early in her career, when she was still a member of Destiny’s Child. He said that he wasn’t familiar with her when he first heard her sing. He recalled the performance that made him realize how talented she was.
Jay-Z recalled the first time he heard Beyoncé sing
Jay-Z said he first heard Beyoncé singing on a song with Wyclef Jean. They collaborated on several songs. Jay-Z said he was blown away by her voice.
“She was singing like a rapper,” he recalled, per Vibe Magazine. “It was the first song with Wyclef, and she was singing really fast, and I was like, ‘Why is he singing so fast? How is she –’ and she was on key. I was like, ‘Oh, that’s a talented person right there.”
Years later, he still found her voice awe-inspiring. He posted a video of her rehearsing to perform on American Idol and praised her talent.
“Sometimes you need perspective. You’ve been right in front of greatness so often that you need to step back and see it again for the first time,” he wrote. “This is the dressing room rehearsal for American Idol. NO MICROPHONE. No effects.”
Jay-Z invited Beyoncé to sing on one of his songs
In 2002, after they began their relationship, Jay-Z collaborated with Beyoncé on the song “‘03 Bonnie and Clyde.” He said inviting her to sing felt like an obvious choice.
“I wanted a singer on the song,” he told Vanity Fair, “and I knew one who was exceptional.”
He later appeared on her song, “Crazy in Love.”
“We exchanged audiences,” he said. “Her records are huge Top 40 records, and she helped ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ go to Number 1. What I gave her was a street credibility, a different edge.”
They went on to release the joint album Everything Is Love in 2018.
He once called out the Grammys for not giving her Album of the Year
During his acceptance speech for the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award, Jay-Z pointed out the lack of recognition his wife has received from the Recording Academy. While Beyoncé has the most Grammy nominations of any artist, she has never taken home the biggest prize of the night, Album of the Year. Jay-Z said this made little sense.
“We love y’all. We want y’all to get it right,” he said. “I don’t want to embarrass this young lady, but she has more Grammys than anyone and never won album of the year. So even by your own metrics, that doesn’t work.”
