Gloria Carter Opens Up About Being A Part of ‘4:44;’ “I Just Finally Started Telling Jay Who I Was”

Gloria Carter, the mother of Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, revealed that coming out as a lesbian to her son inspired him to record “Smile” off of his 13th studio album, 4:44.

“I just finally started telling (JAY-Z) who I was. Besides your mother, this is the person that I am. This is the life that I live,” Carter told the D’USSE Friday podcast. “So my son started actually tearing. ‘Cause he’s like, ‘That had to be a horrible life, Ma’. I was like, ‘My life was never horrible. It was just different.’ So that made him want to do a song about it.”

Gloria also stated that she wasn’t sure that she wanted to share this part of her life with the world through song. However, a poem she wrote to Jay eventually made it into the song, as Jay recorded her reciting it with his phone.

“I was never ashamed of me,” she said. “In my family, it was something that was never discussed…I’m tired of all the mystery. I’m gonna give it to ‘em. I don’t have to worry about anybody wondering if I’m in the life or not, I’m gonna tell them. So now that I told you, what do you have to talk about? So now maybe you can focus on the phenomenal things I do, so focus on that…Now it’s time for me to be free.”

You can listen to the podcast below.