Jay-Z Dishes On Almost Signing Lil Wayne, Beyonce’s Fake Pregnancy Rumors & The ‘Holy Grail’

Jay-Z is keeping busy these days while promoting his new and already certified platinum album, Magna Carta Holy Grail. This morning, he stopped by Power 105.1FM’s Breakfast Club Morning Show to answer a lot of questions you may have ever wanted to know. While there, he dished on almost signing Lil Wayne to his label, how he felt about Weezy taking a shot at Beyonce and the report that he pissed off Robert Dinero by not returning his calls. He also revealed why he felt that he was qualified to be a sports agent and he broke down the “Holy Grail” for people who may have thought he was rapping about Beyonce cheating on him in the lyrics.

Catch a few highlights below:

On almost signing Lil’ Wayne
The truth is after I had a meeting with Wayne I had a relationship with Baby. When I used to go to New Orleans I would hang out with him in the purple Prowler going down the street, no top, and people trying to jump in the car. I felt it was only right to call him. I called him out of respect like, ‘Yo, I was talking to Wayne and just letting you know.’ After that I think we received a letter at our office for like, tortuous interference, from a lawyer and I was like, ‘Whoa!’ and it just all went from there. I think I would rather lose that situation and do the right thing than the opposite. Because I think I could’ve signed him and told him after but I did the right thing and I’m cool with that decision.

On if he was mad at Lil Wayne for taking a shot at Beyonce
Nah, it’s a part of the sport and competition. I didn’t take it seriously. I didn’t view it as a threat. I thought it was just a flip of a line that I said because I had said, ‘You ain’t got my wifey money.’ I wasn’t really speaking to him but I guess he’s holding the flag so he did the right thing for his camp. I didn’t take it as a real threat; I took it as a flip of a line.

On the media’s reaction to him parlaying in the sports world as an agent
They have that belief that you can only do one thing. We don’t have that. We’re not inflicted with that disease. I can walk and chew gum. It’s insane to even say that, ‘What does he know about sports?’ Everything. More than you. As far as business, those guys have been sitting around doing the typical thing, however they acquire the athlete and then they knock on the same doors, they go to Nike, they do the contract, then they sit back and don’t do anything else. So they’ve been sitting around for 20, 30 years just not doing anything.
So me coming, that’s a problem for them. Now they have to work. Now they have to wake up. Now they have to do things. They don’t want me around because now they have to do something for these athletes. My whole thing is for the most part, I’m going to do more for the athlete than they’re going to do for me at the end of the day. I do this because it’s an extension of the bigger goal. The bigger goal is for all athletes to get their just due. Not to get half-ass agents or people who rob them or people that don’t care about their finances. They don’t even care about them and that’s why those guys go broke in four years. It’s like a shame; the average is three to four years. We’re talking about guys who is signing for $90 million, $86 million are broke in four years. That’s terrible money management!
These guys don’t care! They’re just taking whatever is going to get them a check and they’re not even worried about all that. We’re doing all of that. We’re almost like a better money management firm and then (sports) agency.

On if he puts his artists through financial management training
Yes.

On the report that Robert DeNiro yelled at him for not returning his calls
I treat people based on who they really are not the name, Robert DeNiro. Who they are as a person. It doesn’t matter who you are, everyone has to be respectful and everyone has to be a human being. No one is above.

On the rumors that Beyoncé faked her pregnancy
That’s probably the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard and the fact that people were running with that and had follow-up stories. At first, I thought it was one of those get press things, let’s run with it for press. Then slowly, I was like, ‘Oh, y’all believe this?’ That’s really messed up because the time when you’re supposed to be most joyous to have to deal with whether you say you care about it or not it’s annoying and you shouldn’t have to deal with that as a human being but that’s the position that we’re in.

How do you keep from responding to everything?
It doesn’t matter, it really doesn’t matter. When you’re not in control of the outcome, it doesn’t matter what I say or how many times you say, ‘Beyoncé is really pregnant!’ People are going to believe what they want to believe anyway so why waste my time.

On “Holy Grail” lyrics
That song is about fame and the way fame is fleeting. The Holy Grail meaning like you chase this thing, these bright lights and these cameras and then you look back and want everything then end up with nothing. At some point you have to stop yourself. Do that whole first verse is me complaining about it; she cheats on me, she hangs out with Kanye West, Drake, and J. Cole. Then what I do? I took her back.
The second verse is about f*ck fame. It’s not really about anything. So I start to rationalize and it says, ‘There’s people dying back where I’m from,’ like putting it in real perspective. Like, I don’t care about this, people got real life problems where I live or where I grew up. People are dying and getting shot every day. Forty-something people got shot in Chicago. What do I care about being on Envy’s show? Let’s put it all in perspective–I got a good life, I got a great life and whatever comes with it, even the ridiculous rumors, it’s nothing compared to where I’ve been.