Don’t worry, parents — even Jay-Z‘s daughter doesn’t think he’s cool. In a recent clip from his multi-part interview with Gayle King about his Book of Hov exhibit at the Brooklyn Public Library, the bestselling rapper and billionaire mogul admitted that Blue Ivy used to doubt his coolness levels.
“Blue, she be frontin’ on me a little bit,” Jay said of his 11-year-old, asked by King whether any of his kids think he’s cool. “But I catch her. I catch her in the corner, you know? Now she asks me, you know, if this is cool, if her sneakers [are cool]. She’s come back.”
“But there was a time where she was like, ‘Daaaad,’” he added, doing an impression of Blue’s voice while covering his face in mock embarrassment. “I’m like, ‘I’m cool. I don’t know what you sayin. At your house, your parents is cool.”
Blue Ivy is the oldest of Jay’s children with Beyoncé, with whom he also shares 6-year-old twins Rumi and Sir. As hundreds of thousands of fans across the world saw, the tween has definitely inherited her superstar parents’ stage ambitions; at certain Renaissance Tour shows, she joined Bey onstage to impress audiences with her “My Power” choreography.
Running through Dec. 4, Jay’s exhibit offers a free-of-charge, immersive look into his life and career, with artifacts and installations curated by the artist and Roc Nation. With King, the “Hard Knock Life” rapper discussed everything from his debut album Reasonable Doubt to the last song he played for Biggie — “Streets is Watching” from In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 — as well as his move to reclaim ownership of his master recordings ten years ago, which he calls “the fight of my life.”
After working so hard to own his music, Jay-Z insisted he’ll never sell his masters — but if Blue Ivy, Rumi or Sir decide to do so later on? That’s their prerogative, he told King.
See Jay-Z’s “cool dad” confession below.
