--- title: Jay-Z Is Opening Up About Why He Was Unfaithful to Beyoncé description: In a rare interview, the rapper reflected on his relationship with Beyoncé, including their joint album, and his friendship with Kanye. canonical: https://time.com/5041732/jay-z-interview/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-11-29T21:32:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:47:25.106Z og:title: Jay-Z Opens Up About Cheating on Beyoncé and Using Music 'Like a Therapy Session' og:description: The rapper reflected on making music with Beyoncé and his friendship with Kanye og:url: https://time.com/5041732/jay-z-interview/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Jay-Z Opens Up About Cheating on Beyoncé and Using Music 'Like a Therapy Session' twitter:description: The rapper reflected on making music with Beyoncé and his friendship with Kanye twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Jay-Z Opens Up About Cheating on Beyoncé and Using Music 'Like a Therapy Session' > Sponsored content. 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The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ## Video: Jay-Z Leads Grammys with 8 Nominations [Watch (HLS stream): Jay-Z Leads Grammys with 8 Nominations](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/njy8yOVA.m3u8) (1:41)  _Published 2017-11-28. Jay-Z is the leader of the 2018 Grammy Award nominations in a year where the top four categories are heavily dominated by rap and R&B artists, giving the often overlooked genres a strong chance of winning big._  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Nov 29, 2017 9:32 PM UTC  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Nov 29, 2017 9:32 PM UTC Rapper and entrepreneur Jay-Z has opened up in a rare interview about his [relationship with Beyoncé,](http://time.com/4889669/beyonce-jay-z-rollerskate/) the joint album the two music moguls were making and even his friendship with sometimes-rival [Kanye West](http://time.com/4843596/kanye-west-jay-z-tidal/). “We were using our art almost like a therapy session,” he [told the New York _Times_](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/11/29/t-magazine/jay-z-dean-baquet-interview.html) about working with his wife Beyoncé. The duo had been collaborating on an album and they “still have a lot of that music,” he said. But Beyoncé’s work on [critically acclaimed 2016 album](http://time.com/4669085/grammys-2017-beyonce-album-of-the-year-adele/) _Lemonade_ was moving faster, so she wound up releasing that first. Its confessional nature ignited a [frenzy of speculation](http://time.com/4841180/jay-z-beyonce-444-reactions/) over their marriage, as the songs detailed pain, infidelity and anger in the path to forgiveness. Jay-Z’s ensuing solo album, [_4:44_](http://time.com/4840844/jay-z-444-album/)_,_ also alludes to his marital challenges. In the interview, he shared his experiences of putting up a front as a coping mechanism for the pain of a fraught upbringing. “So you go into survival mode, and when you go into survival mode what happen? You shut down all emotions. So even with women, you gonna shut down emotionally, so you can’t connect,” he explained. “And then all the things happen from there: infidelity…” “But the best place is right in the middle of the pain,” he told the _Times_ of working through their issues jointly. “And that’s where we were sitting. And it was uncomfortable. And we had a lot of conversations. You know. \[I was\] really proud of the music she made, and she was really proud of the art I released. And, you know, at the end of the day we really have a healthy respect for one another’s craft. I think she’s amazing.” Since _Lemonade_ and _4:44_ came out, the two have welcomed twins, [Rumi and Sir,](http://time.com/4859048/beyonce-twins-celebrity-reactions/) joining daughter Blue Ivy. Jay-Z also touched on the status of his relationship with longtime friend and rival Kanye West, with whom he’s had public beef [since last year](http://time.com/4841174/jayz-calls-out-kanye-west/). “I \[talked to\] Kanye the other day, just to tell him, like, he’s my brother. I love Kanye. I do. It’s a complicated relationship with us,” he explained. “It’s always been like a little underlying competition with your big brother. And we both love and respect each other’s art, too. So it’s like, we both — everyone wants to be the greatest in the world.” _4:44_ leads the Grammy nominations this year [with eight bids.](http://time.com/5038985/grammy-awards-2018-nominations-jay-z/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5041732/jay-z-interview/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5041732/jay-z-interview/"},"headline":"Jay-Z Opens Up About Cheating on Beyoncé and Using Music 'Like a Therapy Session'","datePublished":"2017-11-29T21:32:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:47:25.106Z","description":"\"It was uncomfortable. 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