JAY-Z once told Amy Winehouse to 'stay with us'

On his latest album, 4:44, JAY-Z tackles major issues such as infidelity, miscarriages, and sexual orientation. Now, in the wake of Chester Bennington’s suicide, the rapper is discussing mental health, including the heartbreaking words he told the late Amy Winehouse upon their first meeting.

JAY-Z recently sat down for an extensive interview on TIDAL’s Rap Radar podcast, and the topics ranged from the meaning behind the names of his children to his soured friendship with Kanye West. During the newly released second part of the conversation, the subject shifted to mental health. “We’re not dealing with that because it’s not the cool thing to do,” he said of society’s approach to the problem. “These things unfortunately have to happen on a large stage so everyone can see.”

Then, unprompted, he brought up Winehouse, who died in 2011 at the age of 27 from alcohol poisoning. “She was telling us, she was writing the songs to our face,” he said. “‘They’re trying to make me go to rehab, I’m not going,’ like, what? You have to go!”

The Grammy winner recalled the first time he met Winehouse after seeing her perform at Joe’s Pub in New York City, sharing how he was troubled when she began stuttering.

“I was like, ‘You don’t even stutter. Why are you doing that?'” he said. “I looked at her, and I was like, ‘Stay with us.’ The first time we hung out, I told her, ‘Stay with us.’”