[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/gloria-carter-comes-out-as-lesbian\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/gloria-carter-comes-out-as-lesbian\/","headline":"Gloria Carter comes out as lesbian on Jay-Z’s new album, 4:44","name":"Gloria Carter comes out as lesbian on Jay-Z’s new album, 4:44","description":"Rapper Jay-Z dropped his highly anticipated album, \"4:44,\" and surprised fans with a feature from his mom, as Gloria Carter comes out on the track \"Smile.\"","datePublished":"2017-06-30","dateModified":"2017-06-30","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/author\/emilyrochotte\/#Person","name":"Emily Rochotte","url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/author\/emilyrochotte\/","identifier":5619,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2f3a3d93cba6196f7aeb50eff060379dae87a7bab7b12983b5dbf60b5cc535f4?s=96&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2f3a3d93cba6196f7aeb50eff060379dae87a7bab7b12983b5dbf60b5cc535f4?s=96&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Equally Wed","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","url":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","width":218,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Jay-Z-and-his-mom.jpg","url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Jay-Z-and-his-mom.jpg","height":2628,"width":2127},"url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/gloria-carter-comes-out-as-lesbian\/","about":["Celebrity News"],"wordCount":366,"keywords":[" lesbian","Gloria Carter","Jay-Z"],"articleBody":"Rapper Jay-Z dropped his highly anticipated album, “4:44,” at midnight today. Listeners were not sure what to expect from the album, his first since 2013. Known for featuring guest stars on his songs, it was expected that other musical artists would make an appearance. No one anticipated, however, \u00a0that Jay-Z’s mother, Gloria Carter, would be on “4:44 ” or that the song on the album, titled “Smile,” would be her public coming out.\u00a0The song starts off with a line from Jay-Z about his mom and the life she lived before she came out.\u00a0\u201cMama had four kids, but she\u2019s a lesbian \/ Had to pretend so long that she\u2019s a thespian,\u201d Jay-Z raps in the opening bars of the song.\u00a0\u201cHad to hide in the closet, so she medicate \/ Society shame and the pain was too much to take,\u201d he adds, going on to confirm that he loves his mother no matter what.\u00a0\u201cCried tears of joy when you fell in love \/ Don\u2019t matter to me if it\u2019s a him or her.\u201dJay-Z was not just going to come out on behalf of his mother.\u00a0Gloria Carter joins the track and concludes the song with a poem about the struggle of living a secret life\u00a0and the liberation of coming out.\u00a0Living in the shadowCan you imagine what kind of life it is to live?In the shadows people see you as happy and freeBecause that\u2019s what you want them to seeLiving two lives, happy, but not freeYou live in the shadows for fear of someone hurting your family or the person you loveThe world is changing and they say it\u2019s time to be freeBut you live with the fear of just being meLiving in the shadow feels like the safe place to beNo harm for them, no harm for meBut life is short, and it\u2019s time to be freeLove who you love, because life isn\u2019t guaranteedSmileThe album is available exclusively on Tidal, Jay-Z’s subscription streaming\u00a0service, however you can listen to a snippit of the song below or sign up for a free trial of Tidal here.\u00a0\u00a0"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Gloria Carter comes out as lesbian on Jay-Z’s new album, 4:44","item":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/gloria-carter-comes-out-as-lesbian\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]