Arts & Entertainment

Jay-Z admits his mom didn’t want to come out on ‘4:44’ album

the track ‘Smile’ almost didn’t make it onto the final project

Published

9 years ago

August 30, 2017

Mariah Cooper

(Screenshot via YouTube.)

Jay-Z’s mother, Gloria Carter, came out to the world as a lesbian on the track “Smile”‘ from Jay’s “4:44” album, but the big reveal almost didn’t happen.

In an interview with Elliott Wilson and B. Dot on the Rap Radar Podcast, Jay-Z reveals he made the song without his mother’s approval. Once she heard the track she said, “Absolutely not” to its release.

“We just had a beautiful conversation and it led to me making the song, and I didn’t have permission to make the song,” Jay-Z says. “When she first heard the song, she was like, ‘Absolutely not,’ and I was like, ‘Man, this is so important.’ So many people in the world hiding and things like this and this will help you … That’s how we spoke about that song. I was just so happy at the person she become … It’s one of my proudest songs.”

He continued to say how much he admires his mother for coming out and that he cherishes their relationship.

“It’s a beautiful story. I was just so proud,” Jay-Z went on. “I’ve always had love for my mother. I always looked up to her. Man, she’s so fu*king dope. My mom has been dope her whole life. She’s just a dope person. Listen to her, she sounds like Maya Angelou. Her pacing, her voice is just so regal. She’s a speaker. Our relationship developed to another level as I started getting to know myself.”

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Out & About

Equality Chamber hosts Pride in Business Expo and Profits & Pours

Entrepreneurs, business leaders, professionals to meet at Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs

Published

3 hours ago

October 4, 2026

Tinashe Chingarande

(Photo by auremar/Bigstock)

The Equality Chamber of Commerce is bringing together LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs, business leaders, professionals, advocates, and community partners on Thursday, Oct. 15 at 2:30 p.m. at the D.C. Mayor’s Office for LGBTQ Affairs (899 N. Capitol Street, NE).

This is an afternoon and evening focused on one essential question: How do we build businesses and a business community that can thrive? The Pride in Business Expo and Profits & Pours with Stephanie will create a powerful forum for connection, practical knowledge, and economic opportunity at the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs. The Pride in Business Expo, taking place from 4-7 p.m., brings the region’s LGBTQ+ business community together to showcase businesses, build relationships, discover resources, and create new opportunities.

Out & About

Learn more about Virginia’s queer history

‘The Remarkable Visibility of Hannah Nokes’ event scheduled for Wednesday

Published

3 hours ago

October 4, 2026

Tinashe Chingarande

(Image by larich/Bigstock)

Queer Virginia Contributor Amy Bertsch will host “The Remarkable Visibility of Hannah Nokes” on Wednesday, Oct. 14 at 6 p.m. at Sprouse Rare Book Room inside the Kate Waller Barrett Branch Library (717 Queen St., Alexandria, Va.).

Amy will share the story of Hannah Nokes, an African-American transgender woman who made headlines in 1933 when she testified in a high-profile murder trial. Learn about Nokes’s life, her place in history, and the broader social context of her remarkable story. Her story is among those featured in the book “Queer Virginia: New Stories in the Old Dominion.”

Out & About

Annapolis Pride arrives this weekend

Sixth annual LGBTQ celebration held in Maryland capital

Published

2 days ago

October 2, 2026

Tinashe Chingarande

Annapolis Pride is set for Saturday. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

The Sixth Annual Annapolis Pride Parade and Festival will be held on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 11 a.m. on the streets adjacent to St. John’s College.

The theme of this year’s Annapolis Pride Parade and Festival celebration is “United in Pride, Together We Thrive!” Saturday’s parade will begin on St. John’s Street adjacent to St. John’s College, continue along Calvert Street to Northwest Street, to Church Circle, and onto West Street. The parade route then turns onto Amos Garrett Boulevard and eventually ends on Constitution Avenue near Maryland Hall.

Those with disabilities will be able to watch the parade from a special viewing porch at the Graduate Hotel at 126 West St. An Annapolis Pride volunteer will be there and available to assist.

For more details, visit the festival’s website.