But he’s an extraordinary person. He has these ideas and these things that he wants to do and places he wants to go, and he’s really passionate about them. He’s very sincere.

How did you meet Cornel West? I’ve always been a fan of his. Always been a fan of his words and his speaking. We had a chance to meet a while back and he and his friend Geoffrey Canada, who runs the Harlem Children’s Zone, came to my house a couple of years back and we had one of the most interesting conversations in my dining room

Jay-Z recently endorsed another man who attained the unattainable – Barack Obama. For black America, he says, Obama represented hope rather than politics.

There are honourable mentions for Malcolm X, Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi. "These are people you can never be. They have a certain glow about them. That for me is what your heroes are – unattainable."

There are honourable mentions for Malcolm X, Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi. "These are people you can never be. They have a certain glow about them. That for me is what your heroes are – unattainable."

I ask about his heroes and he takes me on a guided tour of the photos in his office. We stop at a magnificent larger-than-life picture of Ali's arm and fist wrapped for work. "I'd say Ali is first; the blend between sport and entertainment, and how he stepped outside that arena, and spoke to a group of people, and gave them hope that they could be somebody. Like he was saying, 'I'm pretty' at a time when black people were told you're ugly and monkeys – he was like, 'I'm beautiful and gorgeous.' He gave us confidence to feel we're gorgeous and beautiful as well."

He's very sharp you know and again he just affirmed to me that instincts is really important in business, you know. I didn't go to any proper business school or any read any super manuals like "The Record Business 101" or anything like that. I just pretty much followed my instincts and he just reaffirmed for me that you know your instincts are very important to you.

What other artists do you have in your house? David Hammons, et cetera, et cetera.