Jay-Z's mum came out as a lesbian in a new track featured on the rapper's just-released 4:44 album.
The song, 'Smile', is a duet featuring Jay-Z and his mother, Gloria Carter, discussing her sexuality. Her sexual identity has not previously been addressed publicly.
"Mama had four kids, but she's a lesbian / Had to pretend so long that she's a thespian," Jay-Z raps in the song.
"Had to hide in the closet, so she medicate / Society shame and the pain was too much to take," he adds before asserting, "Cried tears of joy when you fell in love / Don't matter to me if it's a him or her."
The song contains a sample of Stevie Wonder's 'Love's In Need Of Love Today'.
His mum delivers a spoken word outro to the song.
She says: "Living in the shadow / Can you imagine what kind of life it is to live?
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"In the shadows people see you as happy and free / Because that's what you want them to see," she continues.
"The world is changing and they say it's time to be free / But you live with the fear of just being me... Living in the shadow feels like the safe place to be / No harm for them, no harm for me / But life is short, and it's time to be free / Love who you love, because life isn't guaranteed."
Jay-Z has previously advocated LGBTQI rights, having revealed he supported same-sex marriage in an interview with CNN back in 2012.
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Watch what he had to say here:
Credit: CNN
"I've always thought [not allowing same-sex individuals to wed] was still, um, holding the country back," he said.
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"What people do in their own homes is their business and you can choose to love whoever you love. That's their business. [It] is no different than discriminating against blacks. It's discrimination plain and simple."
He'll likely be pleased to hear that earlier today same-sex marriage was made legal in Germany.
A clear majority of German MPs voted to legalise same-sex marriage, as up to 393 lawmakers reportedly voted to approve the notion, whereas 226 voted against.
Featured Image Credit: PA ImagesTopics: Mum, Jay-Z, Lesbian, Mother