In conjunction with the release of his 11th solo album, The Blueprint 3, Jay-Z is gracing the cover of XXL magazine for the publication’s October issue. Speaking with XXL’s Special Projects Editor Bonsu Thompson, the self-proclaimed, “God MC” delves deep into many hot topics currently buzzing around him, including his mega success, BP3, jabs at his new singles “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)” and “Run this Town,” his tenure as the president of Def Jam and life as hip-hop’s ultra businessman. Check out a few excerpts below.
rying to pin down what Usher has been up to lately could take hours of interviews and a river of ink. At the moment, he’s set to release his sixth studio album, Monster, as well as the third fragrance in his collection, VIP. Then there’s his philanthropy work and his eponymous foundation (through which 20 teens will get to direct the first video off Monster). On top of all that, he’s the father of two young sons, one-and-a-half-year-old Usher Raymond V and seven-month-old Naviyd Ely Raymond. (”That’s all I need, a daughter to make me superweak,” he jokes about adding to his brood.) In June, he announced his separation from his wife of two years, Tameka Foster.
