"I cried" - Rapper Jay Z speaks on first time his mother told him she was in love with a woman

Jay-Z has spoken out about his feelings after his mother told him for the first time that she is a lesbian. In an interview with veteran host, David Letterman on My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, Jay Z said he had known prior to the conversation that his mother Gloria Carter was a lesbian but that was the first time he was having the conversation with his mother.

The 48-year-old rapper said: "For her to sit in front of me and tell me 'I think I love someone' – I mean, I really cried. That's a real story. I cried because I was so happy for her that she was free."


Gloria Carter came out publicly on Jay-Z's song, "Smile," from his 2017 album, 4:44.

In the track, Gloria Carter said: "Living in the shadow/Can you imagine what kind of life it is to live? In the shadows people see you as happy and free/Because that's what you want them to see/Living two lives, happy, but not free."

Jay-Z told Letterman during the interview, which will air on April 6, that he knew his mother was gay but he said they'd never discussed her sexuality openly until he was working on the album. The rapper noted that he recorded "Smile" the day after they spoke.

The father-of-three said: "This was the first time we had the conversation. And the first time I heard her say she loved her partner. Like, 'I feel like I love somebody.' She said 'I feel like.' She held that little bit back, still. She didn't say 'I'm in love,' she said 'I feel like I love someone.' And I just, I cried. I don't even believe in crying because you're happy. I don't even know what that is. What is that?"

Watch the video below..