Jay-Z Details Near-Death Experience to Oprah

In a recent interview with Oprah Winfrey, Jay-Z revealed that he nearly escaped death as a youth, during a shootout.

The rap superstar sat down for a highly publicized conversation with Oprah in Brooklyn's Marcy Projects last month. During the intimate exchange Hov spoke on a shooting incident that almost ended his life, as a young drug dealer.

As longtime fans know, Jay mentioned the experience on “Dead Presidents II” from his 1996 debut Reasonable Doubt (“I had near brushes, not to mention three shots, close range, never touched me”) but has never expanded on it until now. When asked about how he escaped death Jay responded, “That was divine intervention. Divine intervention, and nobody knowing how to shoot.”

“Well, no one really practices shooting a TEC-9 machine gun, right?” he continued. “And when you're a kid, with little bony arms—no wonder nobody could aim.”

Jay’s full interview with Oprah will appear in the new issue of O magazine on September 15.

The Blueprint 3, the final chapter in Hov’s Blueprint trilogy hits stores on September 11. -Max G