JAY-Z's mother came out as lesbian on his new album '4:44'
Wikimedia Commons
On the song, Jay and his mother both candidly address her sexuality for the first time in public, according to The Huffington Post.
"Mama had four kids, but she's a lesbian / Had to pretend so long that she's a thespian," Jay-Z raps on the track, which samples Stevie Wonder's 1976 song "Love's In Need of Love Today."
"Had to hide in the closet, so she medicate / Society shame and the pain was too much to take," he continues. "Cried tears of joy when you fell in love / Don't matter to me if it's a him or her."
Gloria Carter herself appears on a spoken-word outro to the song.
"Living in the shadow / Can you imagine what kind of life it is to live?" Carter asks.
"The world is changing and they say it's time to be free / But you live with the fear of just being me," she continues. "Living in the shadow feels like the safe place to be / No harm for them, no harm for me / But life is short, and it's time to be free / Love who you love, because life isn't guaranteed."
Jay has previously spoken out in support of the LGBTQ community, including in a 2012 CNN interview.
"I've always thought [not allowing same-sex marriages] was still holding the country back," Jay-Z told CNN. "What people do in their own homes is their business and you can choose to love whoever you love. That's their business. [It] is no different than discriminating against blacks. It's discrimination plain and simple."
Listen to the song "Smile" below, via Tidal:
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