Jay-Z says he was “close” to appearing on Clipse’s latest album, Let God Sort Em Out, but decided against it. Speaking with Frazier Tharpe for a new interview with GQ, Jay explained that he wanted to wait to break his long-running silence until he was ready to put out his own album.

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“Yeah, I was close,” he said of appearing on the Clipse album. “I think the first thing that I say, it has to be said from me. [Pauses and reconsiders.] I don’t want to be so rigid with it, though. I’m going to keep that open. I’m going to take that back. I don’t want to be so rigid. But at that moment, I was like, ‘Yeah, I want to do something.’ But in order for me to move forward, I got to get this sh*t out. I got to get it out.”

Clipse dropped Let God Sort Em Out back in July 2025. While Jay-Z didn’t make an appearance, John Legend, Kendrick Lamar, Tyler, the Creator, and more high-profile artists did lend their talents.

While the comments seem to hint at working on new music, Jay-Z didn’t explicitly confirm plans for a new album. As for what a new project would look like, he said that he’s still unsure.

“I don’t know yet. I don’t know. But I know that we have enough negativity currently,” he said. “Forget the landscape of music. I don’t know what I need to create currently that’s going to fulfill me and make me happy because that’s most important. I know I just got to be honest about what I feel and where I am. Maybe I’m overthinking it. Maybe I’m stopping myself from just creating. Whatever it is, it just needs to be a true representation of how I feel. Trying to create something that people like is where I think a lot of artists get jammed up. And people can feel that because it’s not authentic. I just got to make something timeless that I really love and that’s really honest and true to who I am.”