Wednesday September 2, 2009

Rapper Jay-Z has revealed how he used to battle Busta Rhymes in the school playground.

The Run This Town hitmaker says he and Busta used to have rap tournaments in front of their friends.

“Going to school with Busta Rhymes and Biggie was cool,” he said. “We used to battle each other at lunchtimes. I got Busta good. I was rapping really fast and everyone was like ‘wow’.”

“Music was just my escape. I wanted a way out from where I was, I had no aspirations to be a superstar,” he added. “I just wanted a job. I was into a lot of crazy things, and music was my way out.

“I had simple goals when making the first album. It was for a select group of people, people just like me. I wanted to impress the guys who were living that life.”

Jay-Z — who is married to singer Beyonce — also revealed that he wants to play basketball with US president Barack Obama.

“Barack professes to be this great basketball player,” he said. “I can’t wait to get him on the court because you know I can play a bit.”

Tags: jay-z