Jay-Z Reflects on the Challenges of Watching His Early Music Videos

In a recent interview, Jay-Z opened up about his early music videos, shedding light on why they are difficult for him to revisit. While discussing his collaboration with director Hype Williams alongside other music legends like Missy Elliott and DJ Khaled, the Brooklyn native shared his thoughts on his past work and his journey as an artist.

Reflecting on the past, Jay-Z acknowledged that he has some legendary music videos in his repertoire. However, not all of them are easy for him to go back and watch. When reminiscing about his early work with Hype Williams, he explained that he sees a different version of himself, and it’s not something he’s entirely comfortable with.

“Hype definitely has a vision for what he wants to see. So he’d be like, ‘Yo, blow the smoke right here, and this is gonna be crazy, it’s going to be bananas!’ But I don’t know if I was coachable as far as a performance at that time. I don’t know if anyone could coach me, you know, because I was so guarded. I think about the early videos that I have, and I listen to myself talking, and it’s kind of hard for me to watch.”

He went on to elaborate, saying, “That’s not even how I speak. So I don’t know if he could coach my performance, but he definitely coached the scene and everything around it. And other people may have a different experience.”

In the conversation, Jay-Z also revealed that his “guarded” nature had long deterred him from pursuing a career in film and television, unlike some of his peers.