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Jay-Z settled the raging hypothetical debate that has dominated the web, advising folks to take $500,000 instead of having dinner with him.
The Hip-Hop icon recently sat down for an in-depth interview with Gayle King for CBS Mornings to air later in the week. During the conversation, King brought up the debate that has become a viral fixture on social media platforms. “If you had a choice between being paid $500,000 in cash or lunch with Jay-Z, which would you choose?”, she asked. “You gotta take the money,” Jay-Z answered.
King countered by saying that perhaps dining with the mogul would provide someone with wisdom more valuable than the money. “I mean, what am I gonna say? Everything that I’m gonna say — you got all that in the music, what, for $10.99? That’s a bad deal. I wouldn’t tell you to cut a bad deal,” Jay-Z responded with laughter. “Take the $500,000, buy some albums, listen to the albums, it’s all there. If you piece it together, if you listen to the words it’s all there.”
“Everything that I said was going to happen happened,” he continued, referencing one of his key hit albums in relation to his career. “Everything that I said I wanted to do, I’ve done. And there’s ‘The Blueprint’ — the blueprint, literally — to me and my life and my journey is there already.” The immediate response after the clip aired showed some relief that the viral hypothetical debate was over. It was also noted that Jay-Z had already answered the question – via the TIDAL account on X, formerly Twitter back in 2021. “Take the money,”, the post said.
The interview – which will be aired in two parts on Thursday and Friday (October 26 and 27) – was conducted as King and Jay-Z toured The Book of HOV exhibit which is currently on display at the Brooklyn Public Library. The massive exhibit, featuring a recreation of the studio where Jay-Z’s first album Reasonable Doubt was made, made its debut in the summer and has been extended twice due to popular demand.
