Jay Z reveals he 'cried' after his mom came out as gay

Jay-Z has revealed he cried tears of joy when his mother came out as gay, admitting he was happy “she was free.”

The 48-year-old rapper opened up on My Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman.

He said: “Imagine having lived your life for someone else. And you think you're protecting your kids.

For my mother to have to live as someone that she wasn't and hide and like, protect her kids — and didn't want to embarrass her kids... for all this time.

For her to sit in front of me and tell me, 'I think I love someone'. I mean, I really cried.

Jay-Z, real name Shawn Carter, told how he was already aware of his mother’s sexuality, however, they hadn’t had a conversation about it until eight months ago.

I knew. But this was the first time we had the conversation, he explained.

And the first time I heard her say she loved her partner, like, 'I feel like I love somebody'. She said, 'I feel like'. She held that little bit back, still.

I don't even believe in crying because you're happy. I don't even know what that is. What is that?"