In the first part of Jay-Z's interview with BBC Radio 1, he revealed that two of the tracks from Magna Carta Holy Grail actually date back to the Watch The Throne sessions, and that he and Kanye argued for four days over where they would end up. In the second part of his sit down with Zane Lowe, Jay expands further on how "Holy Grail" shaped the album, as well as speaking on his views on fame, and the polarizing reaction to Yeezus.
"This was the map for the album," Jay said of "Holy Grail," arguing that the song would not have properly shined on WTT. "There's records like Paris and Otis, and this record is going to get lost on this album. This is the centerpiece to my next album. That was my argument for four days." he said.
Hov spoke of how the song is a meditation on fame, touching on both the negative and the positive. "I'm really just thinking out loud. I've seen all the pitfalls. I'm doing this dance with fame, and I know it's like playing with a drug-- it's deadly. some people never come back from it."
"They look to you like this mythical character, this inspiration and hope. In that case it's great." Jigga said of his status as a successful artist. "But then there are days when you just wanna be normal, and you just wanna be human, and you want to go to the store, and just walk outside with your child and get some ice cream."
"Some days you're not in the mood to have 100 cameras in your face." the rapper admitted, expressing that while he understood it comes with celebrity, he can still be bothered by it from time to time. "I get, I know I'm on the field, I'm fair game... but right now?" he joked, saying that he wished he didn't have to deal with that side of fame, but realized "it would be too perfect."
Jigga then commented on how much he like Yeezus and it's "polarizing" nature. "He's always been striving for this moment, just to find a place of expression. Whatever medium it is, right now it's music" he said. While expressing that "it's been a minute" since Ye has done pure hip hop, he expressed that the album is important on a larger scale. "Forget hip hop, it's good for music."
Watch the full interview below.