Jay-Z has opened up about raising his and Beyoncé’s three children in a rare interview, in which he discussed the importance of providing a “loving environment”.

The 51-year-old, who shares daughter Blue Ivy nine, and three-year-old twins Sir and Rumi Carter, with Beyoncé, spoke candidly about nurturing the couple’s children while allowing them to become their own people during a Zoom interview.

“Feeling loved is the most important thing a child needs, you know?” the rapper said, adding: “Not ‘Here’s this business that I’m going to hand over to you, which I’m creating for you.’

“What if my child doesn’t want to be in music or sports? I have no idea, right? But as long as your child feels supported, and feels loved, I think anything is possible.”

While Jay-Z acknowledged that it isn’t possible for his children to have completely normal lives, considering his and his wife’s fame, he said the couple’s goal is simply to provide a “loving environment” so that they may find their own paths in life.

“Just make sure we provide a loving environment, be very attentive to who they want to be,” he explained. “It’s easy for us, as human beings, to want our children to do certain things, but we have no idea. We’re just guides.”

While the father-of-three expressed his support for whatever endeavours his children decide to pursue, the couple’s oldest child is already following in the footsteps of her parents, having become the second-youngest Grammy winner in March after winning the Best Music Video award for her work on her mother’s single Brown Skin Girl.

As for his own goals in life, Jay-Z joked that it’s mainly to continue to be able to keep up with his children, explaining that he regularly goes to the gym “just to be able to catch my children on the lawn,” but that it is getting harder now that Blue Ivy is no longer a baby.

During the interview, Jay-Z also opened up about quarantining his family amid the pandemic, with the rapper revealing that, in the beginning, it was a time for them to connect.

 “In the beginning it was time for everyone to sit down and really connect, and really focus on family and being together, and take this time to learn more about each other,” he recalled. “And then, as it wore on, it’s like: ‘OK, all right, what is the new normal?’”

But despite uncertainties around the future and the “new normal,” including when he will be able to perform live again, Jay-Z stressed the importance of family, referring to it as “your foundation”.

Jay-Z’s insight into the family comes after Beyoncé shared a video and photos of never-before-seen moments between herself, her husband and their three children in January in celebration of the New Year.

She concluded the clip, which included notable moments from 2020, with the caption: “Give yourself permission to experience joy. Moments with the ones you love are precious.”