“She has perfect pitch. If she hears a song, she’ll be like, ‘Play it again,’ and then she’ll teach herself”: Jay-Z says that his daughter Blue Ivy is a “crazy pianist” who has a rare musical gift

Having Beyoncé and Jay-Z as parents, there was always a pretty good chance that the couple’s eldest daughter, Blue Ivy, would have some kind of musical ability, and that would seem to be the case.

In an interview with British GQ, Jay-Z has revealed that as well as being a singer, actress and dancer, 14-year-old Blue Ivy has also been developing her piano chops.

“Blue is a crazy pianist, but she won’t let us get her a teacher,” he says. “She doesn’t want it to be a job.”

There’s more, though: “She has perfect pitch,” says Jay-Z. “If she hears a song, she’ll be like, ‘Play it again,’ and then she’ll teach herself.”

The ability to be able to identify or sing any note without reference is a rare gift; it’s estimated that only around one in 10,000 people have it. While some consider it to be a learnable skill in young children, and you can teach yourself ‘relative pitch’ via ear training, perfect pitch is generally viewed as something that you either have or you don’t.

Jay-Z certainly seems to believe that, when it comes to identifying songs by ear, his daughter has an innate gift – “That’s just talent, she doesn’t work at that,” he says – but he also praises the work ethic and determination that led to her playing a starring dancing role on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter tour.

“She worked at this, and it makes me proud that she fought for something that she really wanted to do,” he says. “I don’t think we’re going to be able to get her off that stage now.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Jay-Z discussed the partnership that his company, Roc Nation, has with the NFL to produce the Super Bowl Halftime Show. He reflected in particular on the 2025 performance from Kendrick Lamar, and the pride he took in him being the first solo rap headliner.

He also praises Lamar’s decision to take a risk: “He could have made it a little easier on himself. The artistic choice to play the new album was brave in front of that big of an audience.”

“I had high respect for him already,” he continues, “but, like, even more my respect was like, ‘He’s really about what he says he’s about.’”

Inevitably, Jay-Z was also asked about the ongoing rap feud between Lamar and Drake, which culminated in Lamar’s hugely successful 2024 diss track, Not Like Us. While accepting that battling is part of hip-hop culture, he suggests that the time may have come to park the public squabbling.

“We love the excitement and I love the sparring, but in this day and age, there’s so much negative stuff that comes with it that you almost wish it didn’t happen,” he argues. “Now, people that like Kendrick hate Drake, no matter what he makes. It’s like an attack on his character. I don’t know if I love that. I don’t know if it’s helpful to our growth where the fallout lands, especially on social media.”