Amid JAY-Z’s hectic schedule in promoting his latest album 4:44, the rapper took the time to open up about how he and his wife Beyonce tried to help Amy Winehouse before her death in 2011.
In his hour-long interview on Tidal’s Rap Radar podcast, the rap mogul recalled the first time he met the troubled singer in a New York pub back in 2007. JAY-Z revealed that he was immediately concerned about Amy after he noticed something unusual after one of her performances at the pub.
Apparently, JAY-Z found it strange that the “Back To Black” singer stuttered after coming off stage. According to the rap mogul, his instinct to help the singer was strong after the said incident.
“I was like, ‘You don’t even stutter. Why are you doing that?’”
Following the encounter, JAY-Z admitted that he tried to convince Winehouse to get her life back on track. He even offered the British singer to take refuge at the home he shared with Beyonce at that time.
“I looked at her, and I was like, ‘Stay with us.’ The first time we hung out, I told her, ‘Stay with us.’”
JAY-Z also pointed out that Amy has been showing signs of trouble through her music all along, adding that she had been writing about it right under their noses.
“She was telling us, she was writing the songs to our face. ‘They’re trying to make me go to rehab, I’m not going,’ like, what? You have to go!”
Amy Winehouse, who had very public struggles with addiction, was found lifeless in her Camden Square apartment on July 23, 2011. Authorities ruled her death as accidental alcohol poisoning. She passed away at the age of 27.
JAY-Z has always been vocal about his admiration for Amy as a musician. In fact, the two collaborated on a remix of “Rehab,” with JAY-Z gushing about the singer’s talent.
“When I listen to Amy Winehouse, I believe that her heart and soul is in the music.”
And when Winehouse was found dead, he was one of the first to pay tribute to the singer, saying, “Rest in Peace AMY. Tears Dry On Their Own. My favorite song by this amazing talent.”
Beyonce was also very open about being a fan of the late songstress. The “Formation” singer famously covered Amy Winehouse’s “Back To Black” with Andre 3000 on Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby soundtrack.
Meanwhile, JAY-Z also talked about the importance of addressing mental health issues in light of Chester Bennington’s suicide on July 20, 2017. The father of three pointed out that the social stigma associated with mental illness is preventing those who are suffering from it to seek help.
“We’re not dealing with that because it’s not the cool thing to do. These things, unfortunately, have to happen on a large stage so everyone can see.”
[Featured Images by Dimitrios Kambouris, Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images]
