David Letterman’s new monthly Netflix talk show is called My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, which is pretty apt when you are pulling in the likes of Barack Obama and George Clooney. For April’s edition, the guest is set to be Jay-Z, the hip-hop legend who has more than a few interesting stories up his sleeve.
In the latest teaser from the interview, Jay speaks about his mother, Gloria Carter, coming out to him. Jay shows a tremendous amount of empathy in the discussion, putting himself in his mother’s shoes when he imagines pretending to be something you are not for the sake of your children.
“For her to sit in front of me and tell me ‘I think I love someone,’ Jay-Z remembers, “I mean, I really cried. That’s a real story. I cried because I was so happy for her that she was free.”
Jay notes that he went into the studio the next day and recorded “Smile,” which features his mom and allowed her to publicly come out. :Living in the shadow feels like the safe place to be / No harm for them, no harm for me,” she says on the song, “But life is short, and it’s time to be free / Love who you love, because life isn’t guaranteed.”
Though the story is emotional for Jay, he wraps it up by poking a little bit of fun at himself. “I don’t even believe in crying cuz you happy,” he says with a smile, ‘I don’t know what that is. What is that?”
Jay-Z’s interview with Letterman on My Next Guest Needs No Introduction airs this Friday, April 6, on Netflix.
