Jay-Z has addressed his rumored "infidelity" for the first time, explaining the roots of his "emotional shutdown."
In a rare interview with The New York Times, the rap mogul opened up about his latest album, his life, and his beliefs.
After a few songs and several rumors hinting at a marital tragedy involving the rapper and his spouse Beyonce, they were confirmed by Jay-Z and explained its roots.
He explained music acted as "treatment" and stated he went "into survival mode" to be able to conceal his "pain."
"You have to endure. So you go into survival mode, and if you go? You shut down all emotions. So even with women, you gon nana shut down mentally, so you can not connect," he said.
"In my case, like it is, it's deep. And then all of the things happen from there: infidelity..." he added.
In his album 4:44, the rapper opens up about his struggles, while at the same time beating issues like his quarrels with his relationship and Kanye West with kids and spouse.
"The most powerful thing a man can do is cry," he told the newspaper's style magazine.
"To expose your feelings, to be exposed in front of the planet. That strength. You understand you feel like you gotta be this safeguarded individual. That's not true. It's fake."
His wife Beyonce published a personal album of her own worked outside as an uncoordinated way to save their marriage.
"It occurred - we were utilizing our artwork almost like a therapy session. And we started making music together," he explained.
"There wasn't a point where it was like, 'I am making this album.' I was right there the whole time."
The rapper said that fixing such private issues in their records made the few "very uncomfortable," but "the perfect place to be is in the eye of the hurricane."
"The best place is right in the center of the pain," he said.
"And that is where we were sitting. And it was embarrassing. And we had lots of conversations," he added.
"You know, most people walk away, and such as divorce rate is like 50% or something 'cause most people can not see themselves.
"The hardest thing is visiting pain on somebody's face that you caused, and must then deal with yourself.
"So, you know, most individuals don't want to do that. You don't need to look inside yourself.
"And so you walk away."