Jay-Z’s old interview clip has once again sparked backlash on social media regarding his desperate attempts to land a recording contract with a young Rihanna.
According to Daily Mail, At the time, the Fenty Beauty founder was an aspiring artist auditioning for Def Jam Recordings, a Native American music company, where Jay-Z had recently become president and CEO.
In a viral clip from a 2005 interview with MTV’s Sway Calloway, Jay-Z discussed his determination to sign the then-17-year-old singer.
“We signed. [the deal] At night we didn’t let him leave the office till 3 am.”
He even made fun of throwing up umbrella The singer jumped out the window from the 29th floor if she didn’t sign the contract.
In a clip shared on Reddit, Rihanna reflected on her experience meeting Jay-Z. The Tyra Banks Show.
“The moment I entered the office, the atmosphere was so warm and welcoming that I sang Pon de Replay for my audition,” said the mother of two.
When Banks was asked what Jay-Z told her, she replied “He said, ‘We don’t sign songs here, we sign artists.’ It was a little pause that I panicked and then he said, and we’re interested. It was a sudden sense of relief.”
“Then he said there are two ways out of here: either through the door with the contract or through this window, and we’re on the 29th floor,” he added.
The clips resurfaced after an anonymous woman shot Jay-Z and his close friend Sean ‘Daddy’ Combs during an after-party at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards when she was just 13 years old. She accused him of rape.