On Monday (Jan. 8), “Entertainment Tonight” shared an interview with JAY-Z that took place during the red carpet premiere of The Book of Clarence. In the short clip, reporter Nischelle Turner asked Hov about Usher‘s upcoming Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show. “I think he’s gonna take his rightful place,” he said. “He’s one of the greatest performers [who] we’ve seen in our time and I think he’ll take his rightful place.
JAY-Z was also asked about the possibility of becoming a halftime show headliner himself, to which he expressed some surprise at the thought. “I don’t know. I thought it would be selfish to pick myself,” he humorously stated, referring to Roc Nation’s highly publicized NFL partnership that allows him to oversee which artists will perform at the sports event. “It’s too early. So maybe one year. Maybe.”
As REVOLT previously reported, the billionaire mogul isn’t just serving as an executive producer for The Book of Clarence — he’ll be contributing to the film’s soundtrack as well. As director Jeymes Samuel revealed during a Q&A session, JAY-Z and D’Angelo joined forces for a song with a runtime of 9 minutes and 33 seconds. Titled “I Want You Forever,” Samuel described the collaboration as “soulful, biblical bliss.”
It’s been seven years since JAY-Z delivered his most recent body of work, 4:44, which contained collaborations alongside Frank Ocean, Beyoncé, Damian Marley, and more. The project became the veteran emcee’s 14th No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and spawned a successful tour of the same name. Since then, JAY-Z teamed up with Beyoncé and Jay Electronica for the well-received projects EVERYTHING IS LOVE and A Written Testimony, respectively. He also made occasional appearances on songs like Pusha T’s “Neck & Wrist,” DJ Khaled’s “GOD DID,” Drake’s “Love All,” Pharrell Williams’ “Entrepreneur,” DMX’s “Bath Salts,” and Nipsey Hussle’s “What It Feels Like.”