Jay-Z Shared the Musician He Sees as a ‘Modern Day Shakespeare’
Jay-Z can count a number of musicians as friends, but he said he rarely goes over to people’s homes to spend time with them. There’s one artist he makes an exception for, however. When listing artists he viewed as geniuses, Jay-Z named one of his closest friends. He shared how he feels about his friend’s talent.
Jay-Z said he greatly admires one musician
When discussing people he viewed as geniuses, Jay-Z listed Coldplay’s Chris Martin. He said that they became fast friends once they met.
“We met at a Robin Hood Foundation dinner three years ago,” he told Rolling Stone. “We hit it off right away. The guy’s humble, and he has a lovely family. It’s rare to meet such a genuinely good person.”
He said that Martin became one of the few people he actually liked to spend quality time with.
“I’m drawn to his energy,” he said. “I don’t go to people’s houses and hang out, but I go to his house and hang out.”
He has continued to praise Martin over the years. In 2017, Jay-Z said that while they were friends, he would admire the Coldplay frontman even if they’d never met.
“We are good friends — but what I got to say has nothing to do with our friendship,” he said, per Billboard. “I have been in the industry long enough to know when I’m in the presence of a genius… and Chris Martin is just that. In years to come, Britain will look back at him as a modern day Shakespeare… He is an incredible recording artist, an incredible songwriter, but where he really comes alive is performing live. If you get the chance to see Coldplay live, do it — you ain’t gonna regret it.”
Jay-Z described several other musician friends as geniuses
In his conversation about genius, Jay-Z named Martin and a number of other influential men in the music industry.
“For me, [genius means] coming up with something so different and so full of emotion and truth,” he explained. “Kanye – I think I was the first to brand him a genius. Andre 3000 does genius work. Bono, absolutely. Chris Martin’s a genius. Dr. Dre, genius. Rick Rubin, supergenius.”
Jay-Z was also good friends with Kanye West. He said he didn’t always agree with him, though.
“Some of the things he says, it’s unnecessary because of the level of success he’s attained,” he said. “But I know where he’s coming from. He’s fought all his life to tell people, ‘I’m great,’ so in his mind he’s still in that fight. He wants to be the best in the world.”
Beyoncé once declined a song written by Chris Martin
Martin is also friends with Jay-Z’s wife, Beyoncé. They have collaborated on music and performed together at the Super Bowl. They’re close enough that Beyoncé is able to be honest with Martin about his art. He approached her with a song called “Hook Up.”
After she heard it, she told him she didn’t want it. Martin told Rolling Stone that she turned him down “in the sweetest possible way: She told me, ‘I really like you – but this is awful.’”
