Jay-Z Weighs in on One of His Biggest Songs Decades Later

Jay-Z has a number of massive hits under his belt, but recently a report surfaced that the iconic New York rapper claimed to regret making one of his biggest songs, decades later. A report from The Source interpreted as much from an interview that Jay gave to the Wall Street Journal in 2010 about his creative process — which he has become known for due to rarely writing down his lyrics, opting instead to just deliver them straight from his mind when he is in the studio. As the conversation progressed, Jay shared that he hasn't always been very proud of the lyrics for his 1999 smash hit "Big Pimpin."

"That's the exception. It was like…I can't believe I said that," he said, describing his eventual disappointment with himself over the track. "And kept saying it? What type of animal would say this sort of thing. Reading it is really hard." As many media outlets pointed out, the quote in question is over a decade old. So, yes, Jay-Z did make the aforementioned comments about "Big Pimpin," but he did not necessarily indicate that he "regretted" ever making the song. His comments come across more as a creative mind looking back and seeing an opportunity for improvement.

This is #ClickBait

This is being reported as new when it's actually from a 2010 Wall Street Journal interview where JAY-Z talked about his book Decoded and his songwriting. No where did he say he regrets making "Big Pimpin'"

He has performed the song countless times since then https://t.co/OBzg55gzzv pic.twitter.com/LgGIgwVsz9

— JAY-Z Daily (@JAY_Z_Daily) May 3, 2021

While the interview in question is an old one, the "99 Problems" rapper did recently speak with The Sunday Times to talk about his new Puma partnership, as well as what quarantine life has been like for him and his wife, Beyonce, with their three children. "In the beginning, it was time for everyone to sit down and really connect, and really focus on family and being together, and take this time to learn more about each other," he said. "And then, as it wore on, it's like, 'OK, all right, what is the new normal?'"

He went on to express that, to him, his relationship with his family "is the most important thing" in life. "Not 'Here's this business that I'm going to hand over to you, that I'm creating for you,'" he said. "What if my child doesn't want to be in music or sports? I have no idea, right? But as long as your child feels supported, and feels loved, I think anything is possible."