Jay Z says he worked hard to convince Beyonce to date him because she was ‘not impressed’ by his rap star status.
The 43-year-old rapper has recalled his early attempts at trying to romance the ‘Halo’singer when they first began dating and revealed he had to ‘wine and dine‘ her to get to know her better. Speaking of the moment they shared the cover of Vanity Fair’s 2001 Music Issue, he told the magazine:
‘We were just beginning to try to date each other. Well, you know, you’ve got to try first. You got to dazzle … wine and dine.’
The couple – who are proud parents to 20-month old daughter Blue Ivy – have enjoyed huge individual success and are able to live a lavish lifestyle since marrying in secret in April 2008, but the Roc Nation boss is confident Beyonce would still have dated him if he wasn’t famous as long as he was still cool.
He mused: ‘If I’m as cool as I am, yes. But she’s a charming Southern girl, you know, she’s not impressed … But I would have definitely had to be this cool.‘ Jay Z claims his wife – who has always had a good girl image starting when she was a member of Destiny’s Child – has been influenced by his lifestyle, insisting ‘she’s gangsta now‘.
The ‘Holy Grail‘ hitmaker also played down claims made by Forbes magazine that he has an estimated net worth of $500 million, insisting he would rather stay silent on his fortune. He said: ‘I’m not motivated by that … I don’t sit around with my friends and talk about money, ever. On a record, that’s different.‘