JAY-Z has never been happy with the way his 2009 track Young Forever turned out, even though it's become a big hit.
The platinum-certified song, which featured on his album The Blueprint 3, was a collaboration with singer Mr. Hudson and remains a fan favourite, with the hip-hop icon frequently choosing to close his live shows with the tune.
However, JAY-Z, real name Shawn Carter, confesses he has mixed feelings about performing Young Forever, because the final cut didn't turn out quite how he wanted it to.
Discussing the craftmanship behind his recording process, he tells talk show host David Letterman, "Sometimes it happens immediately, sometimes songs happen in three minutes..., and then songs (like) Forever Young (sic) took me about a month to finish.
"It's like, 'Man, I can never finish this song,' and it never turned out the way I wanted it, and it went on to be a really successful song for me, but... it still bothers me that I didn't finish it the way I wanted to."
Meanwhile, during the candid interview for Letterman's new Netflix series My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, JAY-Z reveals he developed his love of the English language as a young school student, thanks to the encouragement of his teacher Renee Lowden.
"I had a sixth grade teacher, her name was Ms. Lowden, and I just loved the class so much," he recalls. "I'd read the dictionary and just (because of) my love of words, I just connected with her."
He even briefly considered becoming an English teacher, because he thought it would earn him a decent living: "She took us to her house on a field trip, and she had (an) ice (maker) in the refrigerator way back when no one had it," he smiles. "I thought, 'Ah man, I might be an English teacher!'"
