Artists can have greater access to reality; they can see patterns and details and connections that other people, distracted by the blur of life, might miss. Just sharing that truth can be a very powerful thing.
Jay-ZRead
I think in London - and I don't wanna offend anybody in America, but this is a real statement - they still have the right approach to making music. In the U.S., people see it as a way to make money; they see it as a means to get out. It's a hustle, which is great - any way you can provide for your family that's legal is fantastic.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Jay-Z contrasts the artistic approach to music in London with the commercial perspective in the U.S.
In this quote, Jay-Z reflects on the differing attitudes towards music in London and the United States. He suggests that while London maintains a more genuine artistic approach to music, the U.S. views it primarily as a commercial venture or a means to escape poverty. He acknowledges the validity of using music as a hustle to support one's family but implies that this mindset can overshadow the pure artistry that music can represent.
Themes
MusicArtistryCommercializationHustleCreativity
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech about the importance of artistic integrity in music.
More from Jay-Z
All quotes βThe most amazing feeling I feel_x000D_ _x000D_ Words can't describe what I'm feeling for real _x000D_ _x000D_ Maybe I paint the sky blue _x000D_ _x000D_ My greatest creation was you.
Jay-ZRead
Far from a Harvard student, just had the balls to do it
Jay-ZRead
I never ask for nothin' I don't demand of myself. Honesty, loyalty, friends and then wealth
Jay-ZRead
It was a very intense and stressful situation. There was playing in the Johnny-pump (an opened fire hydrant) and the ice-cream man coming around and all of these games that we'd play, and suddenly it would turn just violent and there would be shootings at 12 in the afternoon on any given day.
Jay-ZRead
I would run into the corner store, the bodega, and just grab a paper bag or buy juice - anything just to get a paper bag. And I'd write the words on the paper bag and stuff these ideas in my pocket until I got back. Then I would transfer them into the notebook.
Jay-ZRead
Similar quotes
There are other singers of ranchera music who sing very beautifully, but you can tell from the way they sing that they never lived on a ranch. They never knew what it was to milk a cow, to birth a calf, to shoe a horse. I've lived all that.
Vicente FernandezRead
I want it to sound like an orange.
John LennonRead
Early on my career, I figured out that I just have to write the book I have to write at that moment. Whatever else is going on in the culture is just not that important. If you could get the culture to write your book, that would be great. But the culture can't write your book.
Colson WhiteheadRead
I don't sing operatically, and I sing very intimately, but I still do the scales, and I think in terms of intonation and making sure that I'm hitting the notes right on the head... and having it appear quite effortless.
Tony BennettRead
I'd say, if you want to be an artist, start with your art; start with making great music and it will, hopefully, eventually cut through all of the nonsense that is out there.
Queen LatifahRead
We are the sons of Sorrow; we are the poets and the prophets and the musicians.
Khalil GibranRead