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He’s had more Number One albums than Elvis Presley. He hangs with Barack Obama at the White House. And he’s riding high after leaving his longtime label Def Jam to work a $150 million deal with Live Nation, delivering some of his best live performances ever. At the age of 40, Jay-Z qualifies as an elder statesman of hip-hop, a fact that’s more remarkable considering other rap peers have hung up the mike to pursue careers in Hollywood. So how does he run the game?

While Jay is notoriously private about his life with wife Beyoncé… Jay reveals his superstar better half vetoed a piece of artwork he’d bought for their 8,000-square-foot Tribeca penthouse. The black-and-white Laurie Simmons photograph in question depicted “a noirishly lit pistol with a pair of women’s legs emerging from the handle… Beyoncé sent it back.

Binelli also encourages Jay to open up about his biggest challenges as president of Def Jam and his one and only experience in therapy, when as Binelli writes, “The psychiatrist gave him tea that made him sleepy and asked him questions like, ‘Who are your best friends?’ “